Ride

Ride Cameron Dane (c) 2008 ISBN 978-1-59578-467-4

Ride Cameron Dane Published 2008 ISBN 978-1-59578-467-4 Published by Liquid Silver Books, imprint of Atlantic Bridge Publishing, 10509 Sedgegrass Dr, Indianapolis, Indiana 46235. Copyright © 2008, Cameron Dane. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author. Manufactured in the United States of America Liquid Silver Books http://LSbooks.com Email: [email protected] Editor Deanna Pryce Cover Artist April Martinez This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and dialogues in this book are of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is completely coincidental.

Prologue The bucking bull flew through the air, kicking his hind legs high off the ground, ramming his rider in the shoulder blades with his backside. Risa Forrester “oofed” as she jerked forward with the power of the beast’s attempt to throw her, but just managed to fling her free arm forward in time, saving her balance and her eight-second ride on the back of Darth Vader, one of the rankest damn animals in bull riding competition. Adrenaline raced through Risa’s body like the headiest of drugs, making her feel incredibly alive and invincible, temporarily as powerful and strong as the bull she rode to personal victory. The bull rope in her riding hand dug into her palm through the thickness of her glove, tingling the nerve endings in her hand to sharp pinpricks of complete awareness, and then numbing her to the point where she fleetingly wondered if she still had a hold on her ride. The muscles straining from her forearm all the way up through her shoulder screamed, and told her she did. Darth Vader spun into her hand at the last moment in an attempt to best her, but just as Risa felt her center tilt off course, flinging her into a spiral down the animal’s side, the sound of a blaring horn reached her ears—the very sweetest, most wonderful noise in any riders’ life. The bull circled in an amazingly tight turn, but his muscles rippled and shifted between her legs, telling her his plan. Risa took her chance just a second later, releasing her rope and freeing her hand as he switched directions, allowing her to jump off, away from his turn and affording her the opening to run toward the safety of the fencing around the ring. She climbed up to the top and looked in the direction of the scoreboard, her heart racing while she waited for her total. She took in the cheering of the crowd who appreciated any cowboy—or girl—that stayed on for an eight-second ride. Watching the board so intently it blurred before her eyes, the red numbers for her ride and the bull’s performance finally lit up with her scores, averaging together for 88.50. Risa whooped and threw her helmet in the air, pumping her fist and screaming with the crowd as her name went to the top of the leader board after two rounds of riding. That score set her in certain position for the final go round. She searched the crowd for her partner in crime, knowing his excitement would match her own. She found Caleb Hawkins, her boss, brother-in-law, and friend, a bit away from the milling riders and event organizers, with a phone to his ear. She climbed over the fence and raced to his side, eager to point out her name in the number one position. He looked up, and the phone fell from his ear. Risa stumbled, her legs turning to jelly as she reached him. His blue gaze met hers, pain and sorrow filling him whole. Risa barely acknowledged the cowboy who handed over her bull rope from wherever it had slipped off in the competition ring. “What is it?” she asked, her heart now pounding heavy with dread, rather than excitement. “It’s not good,” Caleb answered, all traces of familiar humor gone from his voice. “We need to get home.” Risa didn’t even have to ask in order to make a decision. If Caleb said they needed to go, she listened.

“Tell me while we walk.” She took big strides in the direction of her stored gear. “We’ll leave right now.” Her best score and event gone from her mind, Risa crumbled as Caleb shared the devastating news. **** Risa wandered the perimeter of Nate’s Bait and Saddle Shop, running her fingers lovingly over each shelf of product. As she moved to the beautifully crafted saddles, her heart constricted painfully and a new lump formed in her throat, reminding her of her recent loss. She had lost Nate. Forever. Nate Palmer had given Risa her first job and had ended up becoming such a father figure to her that she never completely left it. When it came time for inventory, she always lent a hand. If he needed a little extra help around the place on a weekend that she didn’t have a bull riding competition, she always came to Nate’s and picked up the slack. She could hardly believe he had died. Nevertheless, he had. At the funeral a week ago, when they lowered his casket into the ground, her legs had finally buckled and she faced the truth. Nate was gone and he could never come back. Tears filled Risa’s eyes. She swiped them away with a hard hand, knowing that Nate wouldn’t want her to cry over him. He had taken her under his wing seven years ago and had never once pulled that shelter away. Even now, in death, he still looked out for her. She could not believe what he had done. The little bell attached to a rope on the door jingled and Risa looked up to a hard, handsome face, one as achingly important to her as any in her life. Duke Boone. Dressed in jeans and a black flannel shirt, he almost looked strange to her, out of his usual sheriff’s uniform shirt and tan Stetson. “I figured you’d be here.” Duke pushed the door closed, twisted the lock she had left undone, and moved into the shadowed store. For once, his gaze held only kindness, not the brittle amber chips of impatience he usually reserved for her. “It’s late, honey”—he used an endearment with her for the first time…”don’t you think you ought to head home?” Duke’s gentle tone rattled Risa and her stomach flip-flopped. She turned away, her fingers clutched together against her middle, her mind and heart a jumble of too many heightened emotions. Coping with losing Nate to a heart attack ten days ago, to helping her mother put together a fitting funeral for him, to fending off intrusive conversation with well-meaning people, to, finally, sincerity from Duke when he had done nothing but deflect her attraction to him in the past… Everything suddenly became too much for Risa to handle. “Please go away.” Her voice wavered and her shoulders heaved, but she couldn’t bring them under control. “Leave me alone.” “I’m not going anywhere.” Duke moved in behind Risa and curled his big hands around her shoulders, spreading warmth down her arms and into her icy-cold hands. Leaning down, he spoke next to her ear. “I’ve seen that little front light on in this place every night this week. You keep coming here looking for answers where none exist. Nate was one hell of a character and he lived a full life. But at eighty-five years old, it was just

his time to go. He had no regrets, and I think he loved the last years of his life the most.” A bubble of laughter erupted and Risa’s shoulders shook. “What?” Duke spun her around and held her at arms length. He stooped down his big six foot five frame, putting himself on eye level with her considerable five-ten. His gaze met hers, a smile tugging up the edge of his lip. “Why did you laugh?” “Because of what you said about these being his happiest years.” “So? It’s the truth. A while back I stopped by to check in on him and he had this, I don’t know, extra spring in his step. I asked him about it, but he would only say that he was loving life.” Risa bit her lip, and Duke’s gaze narrowed. “What now?” he asked. He fingered her heated cheek, and a shiver ran down her spine. “You’re blushing.” “I can’t say.” Risa’s entire body flamed underneath her jeans and sweater. “I discovered it by accident myself.” “All right. Fine.” Duke backed off, hands up. “Don’t tell me.” Risa grabbed Duke’s hand before he could get away, afraid to lose this little connection. Duke looked down at their entwined fingers and then lifted his amber gaze to hers. Holding her eyes, he rubbed his thumb over her wrist. The little touch snaked all the way up her arm and into her heart. “Nate and my mother…” Discomfort flooded Risa, choking her words. “They shared some … intimacy, these last four years.” An indulgent smile touched Duke’s lips. “Did you think nobody knew that?” Risa scrunched her brow and tilted her head. “Nobody did know.” “Honey, people knew. They just respected Nate and Jean’s desire for privacy. Maybe it had something to do with Nate’s age and the fact that your mother is in a wheelchair, I can’t really say for sure. Just be thankful the town chose not to put them through the gossip mill,”—Duke’s fingers tightened around Risa’s hand…”because you know how brutal that can be.” They both did. Seven years ago, town talk had centered on Risa when the now deceased Justin MacLesten had kidnapped her, his bigotry against her brother’s homosexuality his justification for the crime. In addition, just last year, Risa’s best friend, Ren—Duke’s son—had been outed along with his partner, Cade, when a bad choice on Ren’s part had almost cost Cade his life. Wiping her brow wearily, Risa leaned against a saddle display. “Nate left my mom every penny he had. You’ve heard that, right?” Duke nodded. “In the will, he told her not to save it, but to spend it traveling the world. They watched those travel channels a lot and I could always hear them saying they should book a trip to Greece or Italy. I think they both wanted to see Ireland too, and I’m pretty sure I heard them ‘oohing’ and ‘ahhing’ over an Alaskan cruise. They never got around to doing it together, but he has given her this great gift and told her to see all those places they talked about, and that it’ll be as if he’s there with her when she does. “She’s going to do it too.” Risa lifted her gaze from the floor, connecting with Duke once again. Her heart pounded and her throat felt dry. “She feels as if it would honor him, and she has already looked into her first trip.” “That’s good.” Duke nodded his dark head. “I’m happy for her. She’ll make a lot of

new friends on her travels.” “Yeah, she definitely will. I think that’s part of why Nate did it, you know? He wanted to open up a whole new set of people for her to connect with and create new friendships. That’s real love, don’t you think?” she asked. “What Nate gave to my mom.” “I think it must be.” Duke rubbed Risa’s hand and held her gaze. “He loved you too, you know. That’s why he left you this store. You have a legacy now. A tie to this community that no one can ever take away.” Love for Nate Palmer clogged Risa’s throat. “I know,” she said, her voice thick and raspy. Pressure built behind her eyes, forcing silent tears down her cheeks. Risa tugged her hand from Duke’s and turned away, afraid to show any vulnerability around this man. He could cut her up so easily with just a few poorly thought words. With her heart scraped raw from trying to hold everything together this past week, she knew one false move from Duke would flay her wide open and bleed her dry. His big hand slid around her waist, and a second later he pulled her back and tucked her against his wide chest. “It’s okay, it’s okay,” he chanted softly next to her ear, rocking her in the circle of his arms. “Cry if you need to, baby. Get it all out.” Risa had steeled herself to handle the wrong words from Duke. The right ones blindsided her and sucked the air out of her lungs. Her legs buckled and she slumped forward, but Duke held her to him as he lowered them to the cold floor. She curled up into a little ball, sobbing, letting out every ounce of grief she hadn’t allowed herself to feel since the night she’d learned of Nate’s death. Duke blanketed her, protected her without words, sheltering her in his strong, capable embrace. All around Risa the smell of leather permeated her senses and sank into her bones, a familiar scent she associated with Nate and his wonderful talent for crafting saddles. Through the darkness and the curtain of her hair, she saw cluttered shelves, something that, no matter how hard she tried to organize for him, Nate always seemed to let them slip back into disarray. She listened to the hum of the old-fashioned soda cooler behind the counter, full of RC colas that Nate would never finish. Life often changed in the blink of an eye, Risa knew that very well. From a very young age, she had accepted that truth and learned to roll with the punches. For whatever reason, though, she’d never once considered losing Nate. Her chest heaved as the first wave of wracking tears left her body, the tension leaving her muscles as her breathing slowly returned to normal. She wiped her face dry with the sleeve of her sweater, and an awareness of the intimacy of Duke’s embrace slowly returned to her brain. “I’m all right now,” she whispered, unable to turn and look him in the eyes. “You can go if you want.” “I’ll stay a little while longer.” Duke didn’t move or let up his hold. “You’ll wear yourself down if you don’t let go. Relax and use my arm as a pillow. Don’t worry about anything but resting your brain and your body, at least for a little while.” Risa had no words. Maybe that was for the best. She and Duke usually ended up fighting when they talked. For once, Risa welcomed the silence. Within minutes, her eyelids dropped and she fell asleep. ****

Stretching her long arms and legs, Risa groaned as her muscles protested the pull from sleep. She cracked one eye open, blinking against the sharp shaft of light that streamed in through the faded cream curtain on the window by the bed. She didn’t have cream-colored curtains—and more bizarre—her alarm clock hadn’t jarred her out of a deep sleep. Wait. She hadn’t fallen asleep at home last night. She had fallen asleep in Duke’s arms. Risa sat upright and looked around. More awake now, she recognized where she was. The little apartment of rooms over Nate’s store. Unused, they smelled of must and dust. They had furniture, though, and a functioning shower. Risa threw her legs over the side of the bed, but a little paper propped up against a bell jar clock on the nightstand caught her attention. She picked it up with shaking fingers, recognizing Duke’s sharp, scrawling handwriting right away. They don’t make ’em tougher than you. You’ll be all right. Talk to you soon.—Duke. Risa’s hand flew to cover her mouth as her heart constricted painfully, a sensation that never seemed far away from her this last week and a half. She rubbed her fingertips over each word of the note, feeling the scrawl of the pen over paper. Committing the three sentences to memory, she folded the slip of paper and tucked it into her pocket. For the first time in ten days a smile pulled at the corner of her lips, and Risa knew exactly why. There were days when she wondered why God had given her such a powerful desire for this one tough, unapproachable man. Then a moment like last night happened, followed by a little note such as this one, and she remembered why she had fallen so deeply in love with Duke Boone.

Chapter One Risa lowered herself onto the bull in the chute, her full concentration trained on the magnificent eighteen hundred pound animal between her legs. The bull, Hazy Sunday, tensed his muscles and pushed his weight into the door of the holding pen, eager to get into the ring and do his job. Caleb Hawkins stood on the bars and held the back of Risa’s protective vest in his strong grip, supporting her until she gave the signal that she was ready to ride. A half-dozen other cowboys worked around the chute performing various tasks. Well accustomed to the routine, Risa didn’t let it distract her from her job. Riding for eight seconds on the back of a bucking, aggressive bull. Her bull rope already wrapped under Hazy Sunday, Risa pulled the tail through the loop on the opposite end. Ren, standing beside Caleb, took the rope and pulled, cinching it securely behind Hazy Sunday’s front legs. Risa slid her gloved hand through the handhold, custom made and offset to fit her grip, adjusting until she found her natural hold. Ren handed her the tail of the bull rope. She took it on rote, wrapping and securing it in her gloved hand. She aligned the braided length with the handhold and then wound it over her pinky finger, giving her an extra layer of grip to the rope and the bull. When everything in her palm felt right, she folded her hand around the braids and pounded her fingers down with her fist, securing everything in place. Pushing forward over her riding hand, Risa squeezed her groin and thigh muscles into the bull’s massive body, ready to ride. She slammed her free hand on the top bar of the chute and nodded her head, giving the “go” signal. The cowboy on the other side of the chute pulled a rope that released the gate, and out shot Hazy Sunday, lifting right off his hind legs with his first buck. Risa’s riding hand squeezed around the hold as the bull started to spin into her hand. Every nerve ending in her body shimmered with life and energy when in the ring. God, how she loved riding bulls. Risa dug her dull-edged spurs against the bull’s hide for extra traction, holding on tight with her legs as Hazy Sunday went airborne. He threw both sets of legs off the ground, contorting his body in an arc, challenging Risa’s balance and stamina. Swinging her free hand high in the air, she tried to counterbalance the bull’s determination to throw her off. Just then, Hazy Sunday abruptly faded backward, and momentum thrust Risa forward, lifting her seat right off the bull. Jerked hard, Risa lost her hold and flew through the air, landing on her hip with a heavy thud. Instinct rolled Risa to her feet and set her legs to pumping, stinging pain in her hip and all. She ran to the side of the pen and over the rail to safety, away from a bull Caleb had warned her liked to hook. She looked up in time to see Scott and Jason, Caleb’s hired bull wranglers, close the gate on the other side of the pen behind Hazy Sunday. Content that he had done his job so well, the bull trotted to the center of the grazing pen and munched on a thick patch of grass. Unsnapping her protective helmet, Risa whipped it off her head. She slid her mouth guard off her teeth and tucked it in a small pocket on her Kevlar vest. Brushing herself off as she walked, she joined the group of men by the holding chute, thanking Scott when he handed over her bull rope. Designed to fall off the bull when the rider let go, the rope

had a cowbell attached to the loop end, its weight allowing the rope to naturally slip free of the bull when a rider didn’t hold it in place. Climbing up the half-dozen rungs of the holding chute and perching on the top, Risa focused on Ren, the one man who had the information she wanted. “What was my time?” she asked. “Six seconds.” Ren turned the stopwatch in her direction so she could see the numbers for herself. Risa pushed away the stab of disappointment in her own performance, turning to Caleb instead. “That’s great news for your competition stock,” she shared, her spirits bouncing back quickly. “Hazy Sunday is a rank bull.” She shook her head and chuckled. “A real badass. You’re going to get invited to join the list of PBR stock contractors very soon, Caleb, I can feel it.” “Definitely,” Ren seconded. “This young bull, along with Big Trouble and Rock-NRoll, give you a good stable of young stock. In another year or two they’ll be ready to challenge the top ranking riders on the PBR tour.” “We’ll see,” Caleb replied. “We’ll see.” He reached across the chute and tugged Risa’s strawberry braid. “So, how ’bout you? You took a pretty hard fall. You all right?” “Another bruise on a bruise.” Risa thwacked her hip, barely wincing at the slap. She ran her ungloved palm over the rich, cognac colored leather of her batwing chaps. “I’ll ice it up tonight. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine for competition this weekend.” Risa had a few competition sponsors, Caleb among them. While she didn’t ride bulls full time—she couldn’t afford to travel the country and participate in every competition on the tour—she could manage traveling around Montana, Wyoming, and even into Idaho if the size of the event justified the expense and drive. “Cade and I can’t make it this weekend,” Ren said. “Dad has him scheduled to work”—Cade McKenna, Ren’s partner, worked for Duke as a deputy…”and I already promised to give Connor a hand on the main property.” Connor was Caleb Hawkins’s older brother. The two of them, along with a third brother, Cain, owned a good portion of the ranching land around Quinten, Montana. “I’ll be up in the high country, so there’s absolutely no way I can slip away and make it to the rodeo. Sorry.” “Don’t sweat it.” Risa squeezed Ren’s arm. “Lord knows you’ve cheered me on enough that I can survive one without you.” “Speaking of which”—Caleb lifted himself up from his leaning position and whistled in the direction of Jason and Scott…”you feel up to going one more round, or should I tell the guys to get Hazy Sunday back into the barn?” “Hell no, don’t you dare.” Risa jumped off the chute so the man could guide Hazy Sunday back inside. “I haven’t ridden in almost a month. I need to get the feel for it back in my legs before competition.” “I thought you’d given up this damn fool bull riding,” Duke’s deep, whiskey voice spoke from behind the group. Risa threw her hand over her chest and spun around, where her gaze immediately connected with Duke’s amber one. Her mind barely registered that Cade stood with Duke, she only had eyes for the sheriff. Her heart beat in a fast staccato against her fingers as she ate the big man up with her eyes. His hands clenched in and out of fists at his sides, and his square jaw ticked near the back. Risa swallowed down the desire to say something that would please this one man her

very soul ached to possess. “You figured wrong.” She tapped her bull rope against her thigh. “I never told you I intended to give up riding. You made that assumption on your own.” Fire burned in Duke’s eyes. “Damn it, Risa, you have a business to run now. You don’t need to do this anymore.” Risa’s hackles rose and she leaned into Duke’s space. “I don’t ride bulls as a way to fill up my open schedule. I ride them because I love it and I’m damn good at it. If I could go to more competitions I could probably ride my way to the top quarter of the pack. I could even be good enough to compete on the next level against the top riders in the sport.” “Not on those level thirty bulls, you wouldn’t.” Duke leaned over Risa until their noses almost touched. “There’s no way your family would allow it.” “My family doesn’t dictate what I choose to do with my life!” Risa poked Duke in the chest, her bull rope slapping him against the stomach. “They respect me, unlike you.” “I’d respect you plenty more if you used a little common sense.” Ren jumped down from the chute and shoved in between Risa and Duke. He pushed his father back and gave Risa some breathing room once again. “Dad.” A warning sounded in Ren’s voice. “Don’t start. Not again.” Duke had never approved of Risa’s riding, and he hadn’t ever made that opinion a secret. Ren turned to the man with the badly scarred face standing beside Duke. “Hey, Deputy, you here on business?” He slid his hand into Cade’s, adoration lighting up his eyes. “What’s up?” Risa watched the two men together, so clearly in love, and envy pricked her conscience, something she didn’t like feeling in relation to her best friend. She turned away and walked back to the chute, her head down to hide the flush heating her face. God, Duke Boone knew just which words to say to get right under her skin. Her physical attraction to him, and his obvious love for his son, tended to overrule the fights they often engaged in, keeping her on a tightrope walk between blind love and bodyshaking frustration. She experienced moments, though—like just now—where she had to stamp down her wish to slug him just as much as her desire to kiss him. She knew he would respond equally horrifically to both actions. Shaking her head to dispel the unwanted thoughts, Risa leaned against the chute and listened to Duke and Caleb talk. “We have good news.” Duke stood across the space of the holding pen from Caleb. “We tracked down the cowboy responsible for the missing gear from the bunkhouse. Found him two counties north trying to sell the stuff to a pawnshop. Hank’s custom-made saddle sent up a red flag. The owner arranged for the guy to bring everything in, called up the local authorities, and they arrested him when he came back with the stuff. The dude confessed immediately. Tell your men they should have their gear back fairly soon.” Caleb’s blue gaze softened visibly. “Hank will be glad to hear that. He has had that damn saddle darn near half his life. He wouldn’t hear of me replacing it. He has been using extra gear from the tack room for the last two weeks. It’ll make him happy to get his own stuff back soon. “Meanwhile”—Caleb motioned everyone off the chute…”you’re just in time to see Risa take another ride on Hazy Sunday. Guys.” He waved his arm at Scott and Jason. “Open up the gate and let that badass back through the line of pens.”

Duke backed away without glancing in Risa’s direction. “Cade and I just came to give you that update. We have to get back to work.” Ren stepped in and grabbed Duke’s arm. “Oh, I think you can spare a few minutes.” He guided Duke to Cade’s side at the railing, and Risa heard Ren whisper under his breath, “You owe her that, Dad, you know you do.” Duke looked around, clearly saw the men waiting for his answer. Men who had all seen and supported Risa’s riding, while Duke had done neither. The men stayed silent, but the judgment sat clear in each man’s unwavering stare. “All right, fine.” Duke threw up his hands. “Ride the damn bull. Impress me with your skills.” Hurt lanced Risa’s belly as she climbed up the side of the chute. Caleb touched her arm before she could climb over the railing. “Don’t think about him watching. You focus everything on the ride or you don’t get on the bull.” He handed her a thick roll of tape. “Got it?” Knowledge of what it took to become a champion rider—and how to stay alive doing it—filled Caleb’s stare. Risa nodded. “Got it.” She tore tape off her gloved wrist and re-secured the fitted leather with a new strip. Hazy Sunday snorted within the confines of the holding chute and banged his shoulder into the bars. Anticipation rolled through Risa, and everything but the bull flew from her head. This animal had future champion written all over him, she could feel it in her bones. That she got to ride him before any of the big rodeo stars learned to respect his power sent a shot of adrenaline through her, and zeroed her focus in on the ride. Same procedure as before, Risa settled herself on the bull’s back and went through her checklist until she felt securely strapped to Hazy Sunday. Excitement buzzing just under her skin, Risa banged the bar to pump herself up, nodded her head to give the “go,” and the gate swung wide. Hazy Sunday raced to the center of the ring, stopped on a dime, and started spinning tightly into Risa’s riding hand. The speed and power of the bull’s spin rolled Risa’s hips off center, but she quickly adjusted her shoulder weight and regained her seat. Hazy Sunday bucked and turned, fast and concise, challenging Risa’s balance. Her free arm tensed tightly, using every muscle down the left side of her torso to keep it from slapping down onto the bull’s body and disqualifying her from the ride. It didn’t matter that she only practiced Caleb’s stock today, the rules for riding remained firmly in place. Eight-second ride, one handed, or no score. She dug her thighs into the bull’s rolling muscles, squeezing with every ounce of power in her body. Hazy Sunday suddenly pitched forward. At the same time, the buzzer sounded; eight seconds on the bull completed. Risa looked for her chance to jump. As soon as the bull turned away from her handhold she let go and rolled off his body, the change in position pitching her forward onto her knees. Scrambling to her feet, she raced in the direction she faced, toward the chute. In a flash, she climbed over the pen to the other side, elation whipping through her body, carrying her forward. Caleb and Ren stood waiting for her, just one line of bars in between them. She clambered over the rungs and dropped into Ren’s waiting arms. “I did it, I did it!” She squeezed Ren quickly, turned, and threw herself into a fast hug from Caleb. “I

swear to God when he went into that tight spin I didn’t think I’d be able to hold on.” She pumped her fists against Caleb’s chest. “He’s almost there, Caleb. In another year or so he will be a world class champion bucker, I can tell.” “He’s not quite there yet,” Caleb answered, “but good for you. That was one hell of ride.” Grinning, he tapped the side of her head. “Why don’t you take your helmet and mouthpiece off, that way we can see and hear you properly.” “Oh, of course.” Success sluiced through every pore of Risa’s body, giving her the feeling of being able to fly. She pulled her headgear off and wiped her sweating brow with the sleeve of her shirt. Ren’s face suddenly hardened in front of her, and what she’d put out of her thoughts so that she could ride filled Risa whole once again. Duke. His first time watching her ride. Risa turned, following the direction of Ren’s gaze. A lump formed in Risa’s throat as Duke treated her to a view of his back. Cade, however, doffed his Stetson and gave her a thumbs up. Risa held her breath and waited, but after a tick, Duke gestured to Cade and they both walked away. Ren slid his arm around Risa’s shoulder and pecked a kiss to the top of her head. “He watched you ride,” he shared. “I promise he did.” “Don’t worry about it.” Risa shook off Duke’s coldness and plastered a smile on her face. He had his reasons for being hard, she understood that, but that didn’t mean she would let him ruin her great mood. She turned to Caleb and waggled her brows. “So,” she started, “how many bulls will you let me ride in the next four days before competition?” Caleb’s gaze lit up with approval. “That’s the sister-in-law I love so much.” Risa’s brother, Luke, and Caleb’s brother, Cain, were essentially married. “Come with me”—he beckoned to Risa and Ren with his crooked finger…”and we’ll set up a schedule.” Risa’s spirits lifted as she walked with Caleb and Ren to the barn. She steadfastly ignored the cracking in her heart. She had gotten very good at it. She’d dealt with Duke’s indifference for seven years.

Chapter Two Duke sat out on the porch of his farmhouse and enjoyed the late evening breeze. He took a long drag off his beer, letting the icy cold brew slide down his throat before setting the bottle down beside the leg of his chair. He kicked his boots up on the porch railing, tipped his head back on the top rung of the chair, and let the brim of his Minnesota Twins ball cap slide forward over his eyes, blocking out the soft glare from the porch light. Christ, he was bone tired. A series of petty thefts around town filled most of his thoughts lately, and the fact that he hadn’t yet successfully anticipated the guy’s next move grated on his usual unflappable patience. Watching Risa ride that damn bull today hadn’t helped his mood any either. Jesus, he hadn’t known what to expect when she shot out of that chute on the back of a two thousand pound killing machine. Fear, anger, helplessness; he’d anticipated all of that—and had experienced it in waves that sent trickles of sweat down his back. He had not counted on or expected his cock to stir to life behind his zipper and push to get free. Damn it, Risa Forrester was so goddamned beautiful that it hurt to look at her sometimes. To have such complete awareness of her as a woman and know he couldn’t do a damn thing about it killed him. At forty-four years old, he had twenty years on her. Worse, the close friendship she and Ren shared. If Duke let anyone see his desire for Risa it would only be a matter of time before people started wondering and wagging their tongues about just how far back his attraction to her went. No one would believe he had only become aware of her as a woman less than two years ago. Hell, he hadn’t even recognized it as sexual attraction at first. He just knew that when she’d taken up this damn dangerous bull riding it had fisted fear in his stomach, cutting him open as he thought of her being hurt, possibly killed, in this new endeavor of hers. For the longest time he refused to look at why that bothered him so much, knowing on instinct that nothing good could come from understanding the root of his sudden interest in Risa’s life. Only, they crossed paths so often because of their overlapping friendships that he could never wipe her out of his mind once she had taken root there. Noticing other intriguing things about her soon followed, and then the sexual fantasizing had begun in earnest. A year later, and his passion for her had only grown more real, tangible, and profound. “You owe me an apology.” Her throaty, feminine voice slinked into Duke’s mind, tugging on his need. “And I want it right damn now.” Christ, his thoughts of her reached so damn deep he could actually hear her voice. Duke growled against the fast stab of lust. Seconds later, a snort of impatience hit his ears. Pressure forced his legs off the railing and his boots hit the plank floor with a resounding thud. Duke pushed his hat up and came face to face with the greenest eyes he had ever seen in his life. “Risa.” His voice scratched hard. “What are you doing here?” “You heard me well enough the first time.” She slid her hands into the pockets of her long, oil-skinned duster. “You walked away from my ride today without a word, you

bastard, and I want an apology.” Risa’s long, strawberry hair flowed wildly around her face. Her pale skin flushed a rosy hue, and her eyes sparkled like emeralds. Duke had never wanted a woman more in his life. “I watched you ride the damn bull,” he said, his voice hard. “You finally got what you’ve wanted for over a year now. What else is there to say?” Risa stalked up to Duke and wrapped her hands around the chair on either side of his head. Her powdery fragrance wafted into his nostrils and made him dizzy. Simple deodorant and woman, nothing else. Her gaze trapped his prisoner, and he couldn’t look away. “How about we start with the truth?” she said softly, her eyes twinkling in the night. “What truth?” His voice cracked, and he could have kicked his own ass for the tell. Her beautifully arched brow kicked up a notch, and confidence filled her eyes. “You think I’m good.” Shock laced her voice. Relief flooded every pore of Duke’s body. “Of course I think you’re good. I’ve heard enough people brag about your talent that it didn’t shock me to see you stay on the back of that bull.” Leaning down until their mouths almost touched, her eyes darted all over his face. After a few beats, a small smile tilted the corners of her lips. The lift of Risa’s lush lips spiked fear into Duke’s heart. “What?” he asked. He barely stifled a groan as her tongue dipped out and licked the edge of her mouth. “What now?” “You didn’t walk away today because you’re a petty, stubborn jerk who can’t admit when he’s wrong,” she answered, her gaze lifting back to his. “You ran because you didn’t want me to see how much my riding excited you.” Pushing her weight off her hands, she stood up straight and crossed her arms against her breasts, bracing her legs in a tough stance. “Son of a bitch. You fraud. You weren’t thinking about how hard and long I’d be able to ride that bull at all. You were wondering what it would be like for me to ride you.” A low groan escaped Duke’s lips as he thought about that very thing. Risa’s gaze slid down to the bulge in his lap and eyed his stiff dick that, even through the barrier of his jeans, pushed his member against the fabric. He leaked a puddle of precum, and a small stain spread on the blue denim. Pushing back into the chair, he determinedly blinked all traces of desire from his eyes before lifting his attention to her once again. “So you turned me on,” he admitted blandly. Christ, sporting a boner three feet away from her made it difficult to deny. “You’re young and pretty, and I’m only human. It’s biology, honey, that’s all. I’ve already acted on my attraction to the wrong woman once and paid the price for ignoring my instincts. I’ve had a lot longer than you to learn how to control my impulses. Nothing will come of any gut reactions I might have to your luscious body.” Risa leaned back against the porch post and crossed her booted feet. “You want to put money on that, Sheriff?” “Darlin’, I don’t think you’re in a financial position to give away even a penny of your hard earned cash.” “Why don’t you let me worry about that?” She drummed her unvarnished, short

fingernails against the leather of her coat. “Unless, of course, you’re not one hundred percent confident it’s gonna be me handing over the money.” “Oh, I’m confident.” This woman had no idea how long he had battled his attraction to her. He’d already prepared himself to deal with it for as long as they continued to share a town. “We’re not even in the same league, sweet Risa. It wouldn’t be a fair fight.” “You’re right,” she said. Something wicked shone in her eyes right then. “It’s not.” She pulled the zipper on her slicker, slipped it off her shoulders, and Duke could barely breathe. She stood before him in her competition vest, chaps, cowboy boots … and nothing else. The leather chaps framed her sex, tight almost-auburn curls covering her mound. All the blood in Duke’s body raced right to his cock. “Jesus Christ,” he uttered thickly. Tightness constricted his windpipe and he could not tear his gaze away. He didn’t think he’d ever seen anything so fucking hot in his life. Risa turned around and quickly proved him wrong. “Damn it, I knew you’d have a pretty ass.” He rubbed his aching cock, his gaze locked on the pale globes before him, tight as hell, but round and smooth too, surrounded by them damn chaps. Risa looked over her shoulder, laughter shining in her eyes. “I feel like going for a ride, Sheriff. You sure you don’t want to provide the stock?” “You know the hell I do.” He hooked the belt of her chaps where it rested above her cleft and dragged her to him. Turning her to face him, he pulled her down onto his lap. Her legs spread and slid in on either side of his thighs, releasing the rich fragrance of her honey into the night air. He pushed the heavy vest off her shoulders, baring her breasts to his hungry gaze. Deep red nipples capped perfect, handful-sized breasts, her skin so alabaster pale he knew his ardor would leave marks behind. Duke ran his hands up the supple leather covering her thighs and kept right on going past the hand-tooled belt. He brushed his blunt fingertips over the taut flesh of her belly, and her muscles quivered. He grazed his knuckles across the sensitive patch of skin under her breasts, and her breath caught on a soft little gasp. Curling his hands against her stomach, he forced himself not to take what he so desperately wanted. “This is your show.” He ripped his gaze off her glorious tits and connected with her downturned face. “You want to ride, you pull my cock out and strap yourself on.” Pure excitement widened Risa’s eyes, and Duke immediately knew he’d challenged the wrong woman. Nothing intimidated her, and taking a man’s dick out of his pants certainly wouldn’t register anywhere near overwhelming on her radar. “Wait.” Ignoring his plea, Risa’s deft fingers quickly worked his snap and zipper. He hissed, sanity forgotten as she pushed his underwear down and his raging cock sprang free. Eight fat, thickly-veined inches reared up towards his stomach and smeared jizz on his heated skin. His body exposed his desire to her and proved all of his previous claims of indifference a lie. “Take it,” he whispered, his voice naked and hard. “God knows it has been yours for over a year.” “I’ve wanted it for more.” She rose up on her knees, her eyes wide and vulnerable,

tough no more. “Deep down, you’ve known that for a long time.” “Yeah.” He clutched her waist in his hands. “I think I have.” She took him in her hands with exquisite tenderness, and his eyes squeezed shut. She shifted forward against his chest, and his eyes snapped back open, his need to see everything pushing him recklessly forward. Holding his erection up straight, with her pointing nipples digging into his chest through his shirt, Duke barely held back the urge to come right on the spot. He pulled back, their gazes collided, and then together, their attention slid down between their bodies to watch. Risa lowered her weight, and Duke stared, entranced, as the head of his cock disappeared into the tight nest of auburn curls protecting her pussy from his open view. His tip kissed her nether lips, already moist and slick, and both their bodies stiffened. She took a breath, loosened the tension in her thighs, and bore down on his length again. As her body relaxed, his cock slipped inside. Wet heat closed in around him, sucking him in deeper, and Duke touched paradise. “Jesus.” He slid his hands up her smoothly-muscled back, under the fall of her glossy hair. Delving his fingers in, he tugged her face to his. “I knew you would feel like this, it’s why I stayed away. I can’t do it any more.” He gritted his teeth at the picture of her straddling his lap, at the feel of his prick encased in her wonderful, warm sex. “Ride me, baby. Stay on for as long as you can.” Risa braced her hands on the arms of the chair and started to move. With total focus, she rocked her hips back and forth over the full length of his aching cock, dragging her pulsing, snug pussy almost all the way away off and then working him right back into her body to the hilt. Her gaze strayed down on her task. He understood her excitement at watching their bodies merge completely over and over again; he shared in it too. Her pale skin flushed unbearably hot under his hands, and her movements quickly turned jerky. She smashed her pussy down onto his cock and circled her hips hard against his pubes. He jammed up into her fisting cunt, touching her core. She cried out above him, her frantic gaze lifting to his. “Tell me.” He couldn’t look away from the fire in her eyes. “Tell me what you want.” He grunted, trying to hold back as her ride on his prick got faster and faster. Grabbing her head, he pulled her face to his. “Tell me, Risa, please.” His face pulled taut as she wreaked havoc over every inch of his body. “I’ll give you anything.” “You, Duke,” she whispered against his mouth, their hot breath mingling. “I only want you.” She pressed her lips to his in an achingly sweet kiss. Duke cried out hoarsely into the night and exploded… His jeans and underwear not even at his hips, his hand fisted around his cock as he convulsed and came, spilling his ejaculate onto the floor of his porch, no Risa in sight. Another fucking wet dream. Disgusted, Duke punched the wall, frustration overtaking him. He couldn’t resist Risa in his dreams; he succumbed every time. In reality, he didn’t know how much longer his control would last. He couldn’t let it happen. He couldn’t. He steered clear of relationships for a reason; he’d already proven that he threw all sound sense right out the window when his attraction for a woman overwhelmed him. He’d done a good job keeping his head on his

shoulders since moving to Quinten so long ago, and he would not let his physical desires get the better of him now. He would never let it happen again. Still, the picture of Risa so happy at the end of her ride earlier today washed over him, stirring desire in his belly, if not in his recently sated cock. Sitting on his porch, alone, Duke wiped his face and shivered.

Chapter Three Toothbrush hanging out of her mouth, Risa cocked her head as a scraping noise hit her ears. She put her toothbrush in her water cup, spit, and wiped her mouth on a towel, her ears straining to hear another noise from her quiet rooms above Nate’s store. The creak of the ninth stair, a groaning she had become accustomed to over the last month, sent her senses to tingling. Someone walked up the steps to her apartments. At 5:30 in the morning, no one should be anywhere near Nate’s shop, let alone inside. Risa scanned the small bathroom, deciding quickly on her limited choice of weapons. Someone had already grabbed her up once in her life, she sure as hell wouldn’t let it happen again. Risa waited, her body pressed against the open bathroom door, her eyes trained on the floor just outside in the hall. The shadow of a head and shoulders hit her line of sight, and Risa swung out with the handle of her broom, screaming, “Get the hell out of my home!” as she slammed the broom handle across her assailant’s chest. The man cursed and howled, and Risa jumped out of the bathroom, her finger poised on the nozzle of a can of bug spray. “Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot!” Duke threw one hand up and covered his face while the other held his chest. “For Christ’s sake, put that down. It’s me.” “What in the hell are you doing breaking into my place!” Risa dropped the spray and the broom to the floor, her heart pounding a million beats a minute. She slapped Duke in the arm and shoulder as relief washed away the rush of fear. “I could have hurt you, damn it!” “Could have? Shit.” Duke straightened away from the wall, rubbing his chest. “Hell, woman, you did. You have one heck of a hitter’s swing on you. You probably bruised a rib.” “Yeah, well, thank God you’re tall or I would have knocked out a few teeth.” Her hands shook. “Jesus, you almost gave me a heart attack. I’m tempted to take another shot at you for scaring me half to death. I thought you were a burglar or rapist, or who knows what else.” Duke grabbed the front of Risa’s bathrobe and hauled her up until their noses touched. “Think about those damn consequences some more before you leave your goddamned back door unlocked next time, Risa. You don’t live on the outskirts of town anymore where you have neighbors at home all the time looking out for each other. You have three people living on this street at night, and you should not think yourself safe because we live in a small town. Things happen…” “I know things happen,” Risa interrupted. Old anger filled her belly as she met Duke’s golden gaze. “You know better than anyone that I don’t take my safety lightly.” A shared memory of Risa’s kidnapping flashed in both of their eyes. She had gotten out with only bruises, cuts, and a handful of nightmares, but not before Duke, Luke, and Cain had witnessed her naked body become a shield for a madman intent on ruining her brother. In the end, Duke and Cain had both put bullets in MacLesten, just as he put one in Luke. She counted her blessings every day that Luke had survived and could not have cared less that her kidnapper had not.

She licked the edge of her lip, and Duke’s gaze dropped to her mouth. Her heart pounded under her robe, right against Duke’s hand. “I’ll take a look at the lock,” she murmured, unable to focus or breathe properly. “I didn’t notice, but it probably needs replacing. I thought I locked it last night. I was tired though, so I might not have secured it. I’ll get a new one, just to be on the safe side.” “I’ll take care of it.” “I can do it.” Duke’s eyes flared and his jaw ticked. “You just don’t need anybody for anything, do you?” Risa immediately stiffened. “I know how to take care of myself.” Pulling at his hand on her robe, she added, “I don’t like needing help.” Her chin went up a notch. “Especially from you.” Duke’s gaze flashed yellow fire. “What in the hell does that mean? I treat you well. I try to look out for you.” “I don’t want your charity.” Frustration at Duke’s willful blindness built pressure behind Risa’s eyes. She tugged on his hand again and their fingers slipped into a natural link. His callused skin scraped against her palm and sent her pulse skittering. “I don’t want you to pat me on the head and refuse to see that I am an adult who can take care of herself. I don’t need you to keep looking in on your son’s best friend because she’s grieving and your conscience pricks you to do it. If that’s why you’ve made these little weekly drop-ins since Nate’s death, then stop them right now. I don’t want you here for that. I don’t need you here for that.” Duke’s eyes slid closed. He expelled a deep breath, opened his eyes, and settled on her. “Honey.” His voice slid over her skin like a tangible caress. “I can’t afford to see you as anything else.” She let go of his hand and her fingers immediately chilled. Protecting herself, she tucked them into the thick terry-cloth pockets of her robe. “If you can’t see me”—her voice wavered…”the woman I am now, not the teenage girl you saved, then I don’t want you here.” She backed up to her bedroom door. Heaviness pressed on her heart, but with Duke, she had become accustomed to the small rejections. “I can’t keep doing this with you.” She determinedly blinked and kept the tears at bay. Looking him right in the eyes, she didn’t hide. “And you damn well know why. Goodbye.” She closed her bedroom door on his handsome face before she stayed and begged for any morsel of attention he deemed it appropriate to give. **** Duke entered the station and found Cade sitting at his desk. The rest of the small bullpen sat shadowed and empty. “You’re here early,” Duke said, his mind still back on Risa and her tough, vulnerable eyes. “Everything all right?” The smooth half of Cade’s face flushed deep red. “Ren’s not home. He left for the high country trip early; Connor called last night during dinner and told him to come over. I don’t sleep very well when he’s not there, so I figured I might as well come in and be useful.” “You can do something for me, actually.” Duke leaned against the desk across from

Cade’s. “I took a walk along the back streets in town this morning with the hopes that I might see something useful in our petty theft case. I found the back entrance to Nate’s unlocked.” “Shit.” Cade sat up straight. “Is Risa okay?” The picture of Risa in her bathrobe, her skin freshly scrubbed, her hair hanging wet down her back, her breath minty from a brushing, assaulted Duke on every level. He could so easily see himself waking up to her in the morning, looking just like that. Christ, he wanted to share a bed with her in every way. Fucking, sleeping, playing, building … creating. “Boss,” Cade broke into Duke’s thoughts. “You all right?” “Yeah. Sorry.” Duke rubbed the back of his neck and pushed the hairs down. “Risa is fine. I took a quick look around the store and didn’t see anything disturbed. The lock wasn’t broken, just not bolted. For my peace of mind, though, I’d like you to go over there and have her look through her personal items, just to assure me that something small hasn’t gone missing from one of her rooms. Tell her to look at everything, even something as simple as a pair of jeans or shoes. Have her make sure she can account for all of her small jewelry possessions, as well as the stock of the store. All right?” “No problem.” Cade stood and slid his Stetson on his head, hesitating in front of Duke. “You sure everything’s okay?” Duke curled his fingers around the edge of the desk at his back and squeezed. “Risa and I had a disagreement,” he shared. “She’s so damn stubborn.” Cade’s sharp bark of laughter rang loud in the empty office. He didn’t smile, a scar that cut across his mouth wouldn’t allow it. Duke caught the mirth twinkling in the man’s dark eyes anyway. Duke straightened his spine. “What?” Cade slid his hands into his pockets and rocked back on the heels of his boots. “Hello, Pot, meet Kettle. The irony ring any bells for you there, Duke?” “What, me?” Duke furrowed his brow. “I’m not stubborn. I’m not.” “No, I bet you call it an iron will, but where Risa is concerned it amounts to the same damn thing.” Awareness and empathy flooded Cade’s dark eyes. “You know I speak from my heart on this. I love your son, and other than Ren you’re about the closest thing to family I’ve got.” “You are a member of our family,” Duke promised. “Don’t ever doubt it.” “Thank you. Because we’re family, and because I respect you so much, can I give you some insight that maybe you refuse to let yourself see?” Duke clenched his jaw. “Go ahead.” “Risa is not like most other young people. She has a depth and clarity of her goals that I rarely see in women or men twice her age. There is not a twenty-four year old girl in that head and body of hers; there is the soul of a woman mature and full grown.” Cade laid a penetrating stare on Duke that sent frissons of panic through his body. “Think about Risa and who she really is the next time you’re with her, rather than stopping at her age. Unusual pairings sometimes resonate the strongest. “All right.” Cade pulled the brim of his cowboy hat low over his eyes. “I’m gonna go catch her before she leaves for work. I’ll give you a report in a little bit.” “Yeah.” Duke waved his hand negligently. “Thanks.” Duke’s heart kicked up and twisted his gut in sick knots. In his mind, a single

thought raced: if Cade could see the truth in how Duke felt about Risa, how many others already did, too? Christ, he really did not need that kind of scrutiny. As the sheriff in a small town, if he stumbled once, he would be out. Shit. **** Risa leaned her shoulder against the jamb of Duke’s office door. He had his dark head turned down in a file, and as much as Risa hated it, her heart still hammered every time she took her first glimpse of him, no matter the amount of time they’d spent apart. Add a ten-hour workday—with an emotional disagreement sitting between them—and for Risa, the day had felt like an eternity away from this man. “A tackle box,” she said softly, breaking the silence. “Also, some candy bars and beef jerky, and two sweatshirts.” The file slipped out of Duke’s hand and fell to the floor. “Son of a bitch.” His curse rang terse and clipped. “That bastard went into your rooms while you slept.” “No.” Risa shook her head. “Not from my stuff. From the store.” “Come in.” Duke beckoned. “Tell me where, tell me what you know. I’ll get someone over there right now to take prints.” Risa closed the door, leaned against it, and pressed her linked fingers against her lower belly. “No need. I just talked to Cade out in the bullpen. He’s going over there right now with Deputy Maxwell. I have Leigh at the store waiting to let them in.” Risa had hired a woman to run Nate’s daily operations so she could continue working for Caleb and riding his bulls. “I had Leigh spend the day going through our stock when she had free time. She noticed the snacks and the two MSU Bobcat sweatshirts missing from our back-stock just a little while ago. We should have twelve, but we only have ten. A size medium and large is missing. The tackle box was taken from the floor stock.” “All right.” Duke held back from her, reticence showing through his hard features. “Thank you.” Feeling a little jittery inside, Risa stubbed the toe of her boot into the floor. Her eyes met Duke’s, and the familiar thickness lodged in her chest. “Does that help you any with your case?” “Possibly,” Duke answered, loosening, a little. “The more I’m seeing, the more I think I’m looking at two people working this together. If they’re keeping what they take then your shirts tell me we’re looking at smaller men, teenagers, or very possibly women. Having said that”—Duke settled back against the desk and crossed his arms…”most thieves try to sell what they steal, so the size could mean nothing. It’s possible the shirts were easy to grab and that’s why he took them.” “We keep them on a shelf just inside the door to the backroom, so that would make sense,” Risa reasoned. Her brows drew together. “But why take what they did? They could have stolen a couple of reed fishing rods or a saddle and sold them for a mint. I have a lot more expensive items to steal. He, or she, or they, whoever, will be lucky to get five or ten bucks a pop for what they took.” “A couple of reasons jump to mind just off the top of my head,” Duke said. “A saddle or fishing rods would be a lot harder to conceal. It’s possible this person or

persons don’t have transportation, as the things that go missing are small and easily moveable. Just as likely, they might know something about the law and so know how little to take in order to keep it a misdemeanor crime. Finally, it could be a couple of kids getting their rocks off breaking into homes and businesses, and don’t really care what they take.” “All good points that did not occur to me.” Risa smiled sheepishly. “I guess that’s your polite way of telling me you already know how to do your job and don’t need my opinion, huh?” “No.” Duke pushed off the desk and moved to stand in front of Risa. Sliding his hands into his pockets, he hunched his shoulders forward in a casual stance. “It’s my way of making small talk and hoping that we’re past what happened this morning. So tell me, is it working?” Duke had never made such a humble effort at reconciling with her, and Risa’s heart immediately melted into a puddle right on his office floor. “Yeah, we’re fine.” She stuck her hand out. “Put ’er there, partner.” He took her hand—and almost shook it. Quickly, he pushed up the sleeve of her shirt, his eyes darkening to rich gold. “What in the hell happened to you?” He turned her hand over, and she winced. He fingered the thick gauze wrapped around her wrist before turning his thunderous gaze on her. “What happened to your wrist?” Even through the layer of protection, Duke’s touch tingled her nerve endings to life. “Nothing.” She tugged on her hand. “Rock-N-Roll clipped my wrist with his hoof, that’s all. He gave me a little cut that didn’t even require stitches. The wrap is there as a precaution because I sprained that wrist six months ago.” Duke rubbed her wrist and then let her go. “Well,” he said, “at least it’ll keep you off the bulls this weekend.” Her jaw dropped. “Why do you think that?” “You can’t compete with an injury,” Duke answered. “Certainly not one on your holding hand.” “Of course I can.” Her hackles rose. God, she had never met a more obstinate man. “This cut is nothing. If I let this little scratch keep me out of the ring I’d be laughed off the circuit by the other riders, and rightly so. You don’t pull yourself out of a competition for rinky-dink stuff like this.” “What will you withdraw for?” Duke asked, his voice hard. “A broken arm? Cracked ribs? A concussion? What will it take, Risa, to get you out of this ridiculously dangerous sport?” “Nothing.” Risa puffed her chest out and stood up proud, all five foot ten inches of her finely honed body nearly touching his. Her gaze met Duke’s, and sparked. She moved up on tiptoe and got even closer to the belligerence firing his gaze. “Just like you and your job, there’s not a damn thing in this world that will make me give up riding bulls.” Danger swirled in the depths of Duke’s eyes. “Oh yeah?” He grabbed the back of her neck and forced her head back. “How about this?” he asked, his voice dangerously soft. He swooped down and captured her mouth in a kiss.

Chapter Four Duke crushed his mouth to Risa’s, and she lit up in flames. She grabbed Duke’s shirt and twisted it in her hands, pulling him to her with all of her strength. She smashed her lips against his, and every bruise and cut she’d taken on her body over the last three days disappeared, forgotten. Groaning, Duke backed her into the door. He pressed his weight into her, and Risa shivered, luxuriating in the feel of his muscled stomach pushing against hers. He slid his hands around her waist and jerked her into the spread of his legs, rubbing his crotch against hers. Risa’s eyes snapped open, and his glittering gaze clashed with hers. Duke lifted his hand and touched over her face, his fingers flickering upon her skin with something akin to wonder. Risa turned into his palm and grazed him with a light kiss. Her lower lip caught on his callused skin and pulled before severing the connection. Duke’s pupils flared. “Jesus Christ, you are beautiful,” he muttered thickly, and fused his mouth to hers once again. She gasped under the force, and Duke took advantage, sinking his tongue inside. He rubbed his tongue against hers, and Risa squeezed his shirt, needing something to hold herself to earth. No one had ever kissed her so deeply, and her head spun too fast to think and respond. “Kiss me back, damn it.” Duke cupped her buttocks and ground himself into the V of her legs. A thick bulge smashed into her mound, and even through their jeans Risa cried out at the intimacy of the connection. Her sex flooded with wet heat and she pushed back, needing a more complete touch. Duke’s tongue swept her mouth, and this time Risa latched on, sucking and holding him inside. Duke shuddered and lifted her right off the floor. Loving the feel of the prison of his arms, she wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. He staggered backward until he hit his desk. Turning, he lowered them both to the clean surface. His cock pushed against her seam, and they both moaned. Frantically, she reached in between them and tugged on his belt. Duke suddenly tensed, and he tore his mouth away. He covered her hand on his buckle, stilling her fingers. His shadowed gaze met hers as he lifted his weight and stood. Taking her hand in his, he pulled her to her feet. “Damn it.” He turned away and wiped the lower half of his face with his hand. “That went too far. I apologize.” “Too far?” Goose bumps sprouted all along Risa’s arms. She pulled her button-down shirt around her body more securely as a sick feeling coalesced in her belly. “What does that mean?” Duke shifted back around and crossed his arms against his chest. His eyes flat and indifferent, drew another shiver out of Risa. A very bad one. “It means I tried to prove a point that there is something that would get you to give up bull riding, sweetheart.” The blow to Risa’s soul buckled her knees. She grabbed at his desk and held herself up. “What?” Her blood boiled at the dig against her feelings. “You mean you?” Duke didn’t say a word and his stance didn’t waver a centimeter. He just stood there and stared, complete awareness shining through his eyes.

Son of a bitch. Risa took on his focus without flinching. “Are you saying if I give up bull riding you’d be with me?” He cocked a dark brow. “Would it work?” She looked him up and down, all six foot five, masculine, tough inches of him. She noticed he didn’t have quite everything in his full control. He was such a liar. “Not a chance.” She smiled to herself, suddenly feeling as if she could walk on air. “Not one goddamned chance in hell.” She moved to him and stood so-very close, barely six inches of space between their bodies. She latched his gaze to hers and sidled around his frame, leading him with her eyes as she turned. She backed up to the door, her fingers wrapping around the handle. “You may have started out kissing me to make a point.” Her attention flickered to his visible erection as she slowly opened the door. “But by the time you laid me out on your desk you wanted me more than you cared about proving your position.” Raising an eyebrow, she met his stubborn gaze. “The difference between you and me is that I’m not afraid to take a chance. We could argue the wisdom of our attraction for the rest of our lives, but that won’t make it go away. You want me just as much as I want you. You stumbled tonight, Sheriff. Now that you have, it’s bound to happen again. I’ll see you soon.” She waggled her fingers. “’Night.” * Duke watched Risa walk out of his office, supreme confidence in every glorious, long-legged step. He stared through hungry eyes as the first crack weakened his steely armor. Christ, the difference in their ages didn’t mean a damn thing right now. He’d held a woman in his arms just now, one fully grown. There could be no lying to himself about that any longer. Just as heady, her enthusiasm, and her lack of fear about anything, excited him to his core. She threw him completely off balance, and that bubbled panic in him like nothing else in his life. He didn’t want surprises in his life anymore. He’d already had enough debilitating shocks to last him a lifetime. And with Risa, Duke had no idea where she would push this little tango between them next. “Shit.” **** Risa walked the holding pens behind the scenes at the rodeo and checked out each bull in the house, a ritual she performed that helped her calm down. She still had two hours to kill before riding began, but she had a hard time sitting still before a competition, something many a rider experienced. She had drawn Tornado Alley in her first round at this event. A top ranked bull on this level of the circuit, only three men had ridden him in thirty outs. The match-up pleased Risa, as it gave her a real chance to show her skill. Riders could cover Tornado, but at only three successful rides, it proved the difficulty in achieving the goal. If Risa could cover him today and make it to the short round tomorrow night she would make good strides in gaining the respect of the other riders. She wanted that, craved it more than she liked to admit.

Right now, the guys treated her with benign friendliness and kept her at an arm’s distance. She understood they did not really know how to behave with her and so didn’t hold the lack of shoulder thumping, fist hitting camaraderie against them. She got the occasional high-five after a good ride. At this stage, she couldn’t ask for more than that. “Starting to get some jitters about riding Tornado Alley?” a voice asked, jerking Risa out of her thoughts. Risa looked up, and smiled. “Oh, hi.” She recognized the man as one of the stock contractors for the event. She stuck out her hand. “Brian, right?” “Most folks call me Butchie.” He took her hand in his meaty palm. “Saw you standing here and thought I’d see if you needed any assistance.” “No, I’m good.” He didn’t let go of her hand, and Risa’s adrenaline started pumping through her veins. “Thanks for the kindness, though,” she added, and tugged again. He pulled her to him, and his tobacco breath washed hot over her face. Risa swallowed the gag that choked her throat. She stood up tall and looked him right in the eyes. “You can let me go now,” she told him, her tone firm. “I promise I don’t need anyone to hold my hand.” “I just want to talk to you for a minute, Little Miss Bull Rider.” He stepped right up against her, and his paunch belly pressed into her shirt. Leaning down, he whispered into her ear, “I bet you’re a wild one, aren’t you? I bet you like it a little rough.” Risa looked into the asshole’s beady hazel eyes. “Yeah,” she bit off with a tight smile, “I do.” She grabbed his wrist, twisted it back, and kicked him behind the knee in three lightning-quick moves. He turned to get away, but she moved with him, and with a jab to the back of his other leg, took him to his knees. Grinding her boot into his back, she easily took him the rest of the way to the ground. She folded down to her knees with his wrist still wrapped up in her hold behind his back. “Now you just hold still for one little minute and listen to me, Big Mr. Stock Contractor.” “Get off me, you bitch.” “I don’t think so,” a rough, gravelly voice spoke from the end of the line of pens. Risa looked up into the face of a hard looking man she didn’t recognize. The man’s lips lifted in a small smile at one edge. “Sounds like the young woman has something to say, Butchie.” The cowboy leaned a shoulder against an empty pen and crossed his ankles. “I reckon if you listen she’ll let you go.” His lips twisted in a sneer. “Not that you deserve it.” The man’s forest eyes lifted to her. “Go ahead. Get it done before you get more company.” Risa nodded, then turned her attention to the man on the ground. “I’ve just got one thing to say. And really, I say it for your own health.” She pressed her heel into the back of his thigh until he howled for her to stop. “You put your hands on me again, or I see you hanging around any woman that looks the slightest bit uncomfortable with your company, and we’ll be doing this again. Oh, and just so you know”—she let his arm go and stood back up…”what I did to you just now doesn’t even scratch the surface of the many ways I’ve learned to defend myself against a man.” Butchie rolled his big body to his knees and got to his feet. “I was just trying to be friendly.” He brushed himself off as he walked away. “Everyone’s so damn sensitive

these days. Geez.” Butchie stalled as he got to the other man, and gave him a wide berth. As he moved past, the stranger bared his teeth and growled. Butchie scrambled and disappeared from sight. Risa walked down the line of pens to the tall, rough-looking man. “Thanks for the back-up.” “Didn’t look like you needed any help, but I’m glad I wandered by when I did.” His eyes twinkled. “Just in case.” “Risa Forrester.” She stuck out her hand. “Nice to meet you.” “Jake Chase.” The man took her hand in a solid, brief handshake. “I’m with the contractor that owns Tornado Alley.” “Ahh.” Risa nodded and clasped her hands behind her back. “My nemesis for the day. He’s a real badass. I’m looking forward to the challenge.” “Did you get a chance to get a good look at him?” Jake asked. “They haven’t taken him to the chutes yet.” “I was getting there.” Risa walked the line of pens with Jake. “ I like to make it the last thing I do before I leave the area. I like to get one good look into their eyes, and then I’m ready to ride.” “Sorry Butchie messed up your ritual.” Risa shrugged her shoulders. “I’m sorry you had to see me defend myself like that. It doesn’t happen too often.” She slid the man a quick glance. “But then again I’m usually with my boss, so guys like that don’t tend to get a chance to pounce.” “Don’t apologize for Butchie. His dickish behavior is unfortunately his real personality.” As they reached Tornado’s holding pen, Jake turned and faced Risa, his arms crossed against his chest. “He tried to kiss my wife once. She punched him in the mouth. When I found out about it I hit him in a few more places. He has kept out of my way ever since.” Risa laughed. “I’d love to meet your wife sometime. It sounds like she and I would get along real well.” Jake’s face lost all traces of warmth and color. “You can’t,” he said, his voice devoid of emotion. “She passed two years ago.” “Oh, I’m so sorry.” She automatically rubbed his arm. “I lost a dear friend a little over a month ago. I thought of him as a surrogate father, but I can’t imagine losing a spouse.” The thought of Duke dying flooded Risa, and her heart constricted painfully. “I guess I shouldn’t have said that. It’s insensitive to make a comparison. I apologize.” “Don’t worry about it. Not your fault.” Obvious pain etched the lines of Jake’s face, making it hard for Risa to guess his age. Mid-thirties maybe, age could be tough to tell on a weather-aged cowboy. He had a little bit of gray in his brown hair, but not enough to see unless one really studied his features. She had never seen him at the rodeos she’d participated in, but felt an immediate kinship with him that she didn’t understand. Something in his face and stance made her want to take him home and tell him everything would be all right. “So.” She shook off the need to mother a man who surely didn’t need it, nor would likely welcome it either. “How long have you worked with Morrison’s outfit?” she asked. “I haven’t seen you around before.” “I don’t usually move around with the stock,” Jake explained. “I work his property

down in Wyoming. He just lost one of the guys he brings on the tour so I’m filling in until he can be replaced.” Risa smiled. “Well, hopefully I’ll run into you a few more times on the tour. I’d love to get your insight on…” “Hey, Risa, I’ve been looking for you,” Caleb’s familiar voice broke in. “I should have known you’d be here.” “Hey, Caleb,” Risa called back. “Yeah. Sorry we got separated in the craziness. Listen, I have someone I’d like you to meet. Caleb, this is Jake Chase. He’s with Morrison’s stock.” She turned to include the other man. “Jake, this is Caleb Hawkins, my boss, and hopefully soon-to-be a PBR stock contractor too. He has a hell of a couple bulls that deserve to compete on the minor tours right now.” “She’s all the PR I need.” Caleb chuckled and stuck out his hand. “Good to meet you, Jake.” The two men pumped fists. “Likewise. “Okay, then.” Jake said. “I’ll leave you to your ritual. Nice to meet you, Risa, I’m sure I’ll see you around. Caleb”—the man lifted his hand as he backed away…”nice to meet you too. Bye.” Risa watched Jake amble down the line of pens, his hands tucked into his snug jeans, his shoulders hunched slightly forward, shortening his tall frame. Sadness permeated the air, thick and oppressive. It pushed down on Risa’s shoulders, making her feel double her one hundred and fifty pound weight. Maybe it came from Jake, or possibly from her mentioning Nate’s death. The bulls rustled in their pens, and Risa knew more than just her imagination had caused the sinking sensation in her bones. She determinedly shook it off, knowing that only half a mind focused on riding would punch the quickest ticket to injury hell. “So.” She forced herself to grin at Caleb, to push the good feelings to the surface in every way. “Did you need me for something? What’s up?” “I finally tracked down the guy with the key to let you into the office where you’ll change and store your gear. We can go whenever you’re ready.” “I keep telling the tour coordinator that I don’t need a special room. It’s not like I strip down to nothing, and I’m fine going back to the motel to shower afterward.” “You know he has to provide it,” Caleb said. “He has to cover his and the tour’s ass. Just let him give you the space and don’t bemoan it. You do your job and let him do his.” “You’re right.” Risa threw her hands up in surrender. “Fine. I don’t want to make the other guys uncomfortable anyway.” Her gaze drifted to the pen at her right. “Give me a minute with Tornado and I’ll be ready to go get dressed.” Caleb nodded and moved a dozen paces down the line. Squatting down, Risa looked through the breaks in the gate. Her heart rate slowed, becoming eerily calm as she took in the image of Tornado Alley. Nearly two thousand pounds of rippling muscle covered in camel-colored, coarse hair, he had wide, downturned horns, stood steady and confident, and had the heart of a champion beating inside his enormous chest. Risa looked into his chocolate eyes and knew without a doubt that he understood his job. His intellect perceived that when in that ring with a rider on his back, he became the winner and the only one scored if he bucked the annoying weight off his back in less than eight seconds. He knew he had a crowd to please too, and like the rider, a good bull wanted that crowd cheering for him alone.

“Not today, Tornado,” Risa said softly, reverence in her voice. “With all due respect, not on my ride. I’ll see you in the chute.” The bull snorted, and Risa stood. In her heart, she knew they understood each other perfectly. “Let’s go.” She joined Caleb, her focus complete. “We’ve met, and now I’m ready to ride.” Caleb chuckled, threw his arm over Risa’s shoulders, and led the way. * Outside, fighting against every instinct living within him, Duke stepped up to the window and purchased a ticket.

Chapter Five Duke held back in the crowds at the rodeo until the rider before Risa moved into the chute. He had already spotted Caleb down close to the ring talking with another cowboy. Duke didn’t want Risa to know he had shown up here, especially since he couldn’t explain to himself why he had finally come to watch her compete. It couldn’t be something as simple as that kiss, although, Christ, she had tasted phenomenal. He could not get the feel of her wrapped around him out of his mind. For two days he relived the power in her legs wound around his waist, squeezing him and heating his body. She left him aching with the need to feel her surrounding him in every way. Experiencing the intoxicating sweetness in her kiss, Jesus, Duke hadn’t thought that kind of untried enthusiasm existed anymore. To have it focused on him, by a woman he found incredibly attractive in every way… When Duke woke up this morning he had found he couldn’t stay away. He craved closeness with Risa, much as every ounce of sanity in him screamed that he stay away. The pull yanked him hard, though, and he found himself more and more interested in just about everything in her life. Even bull riding. Unable to keep in the background any longer, Duke flashed his badge at a rodeo official and joined Caleb near the ring. “Tell me she’s capable of riding this level of bull,” he murmured when he reached Caleb’s side. Caleb’s startled gaze landed on Duke. He searched Duke’s face, enough that Duke squirmed. Caleb finally said, “She knows how to ride. I wouldn’t support her if she weren’t damn good.” He stuck out his hand. “Glad to see you’ve finally come to check it out for yourself.” “I still don’t know if it’s the right thi…” Duke’s voice trailed off as the announcer introduced Risa. The crowd went wild, and Duke turned a puzzled look on Caleb. “Everyone likes an original.” Caleb motioned across the ring to the chute on the far side. “Watch her set herself. Notice how she never loses focus on her task.” Duke couldn’t see with clarity from such a distance away, but he could tell that once Risa lowered herself into the chute, she never looked up or played to the audience. She rosined the tail length of her rope with her gloved hand, he saw that, the rest happened below the gate and out of his full sight. Tension filled Duke’s muscles and his upper lip beaded with perspiration. Damn it, his nerves buzzed crazily under his skin, making it hard to stand still. He couldn’t help it, though. The thought of something happening to Risa filled him with dread and broke him out in a cold sweat. She’d been doing this for more than a year now, but so long as he hadn’t seen it, he could tell himself the danger only existed in his head. Being at the rodeo, seeing the size and strength of these bulls up close, watching them toss rider after rider, Risa’s profession all of a sudden became very real for Duke. Too real. He turned away.

Caleb grabbed his arm and spun him back around. “Watch her,” Caleb ordered, his voice hard. His blue eyes blazed with protective fire. “Don’t you dare disrespect her by looking away.” The hair on the back of Duke’s neck rose to attention and possession fisted him in the chest. “You don’t get to champion her.” He almost added, “That’s my job,” but Caleb shut him up by pointing at the ring. A cowboy pulled the rope attached to the chute, and Tornado Alley bucked high out of the gate, right from the start. Duke’s heart seized as he watched, but Risa adjusted forward with enough clearance to keep her hips square on the back of the massive bull. She rode high and loose as the animal rolled and skipped with incredible speed, her free hand whipping hard to stay upright against Tornado’s power. Duke held his breath, kept one eye on the clock, and the other riveted to Risa. Once he’d allowed himself to look, he couldn’t tear his focus off her. Her beauty, femininity, and sensuality shined through as she rode, even with the protective helmet, vest, glove, chaps, boots and spurs. The very essence of her womanhood reached Duke through the air and grabbed hold tight of his cock. Jesus Christ, he had never wanted a woman the way he wanted Risa Forrester in that moment. The buzzer sounded, and Caleb lifted Duke right off the ground. “She did it! She did it!” Caleb thumped Duke hard on the back. “Goddamn it, she did it.” Words failed Duke as he watched Risa race to the fencing and climb up to the top rung, Tornado hot on her tail. The bullfighters cornered the animal, forcing him to turn direction and head to the exit gate. Risa waved to the crowd and exited the ring. Within thirty seconds, her scores went up on the board. A combined total score of 82.00 out of one hundred possible points. Forty-two for Risa’s ride, and forty for the bull’s performance. The man standing next to Caleb broke his silence with a litany of foul words. “Those sons of bitches.” He turned burning green eyes on Caleb and Duke. “Those damn judges underscored the bull.” “Jackasses.” Caleb shook his head in disgust. “She rode the damn thing so beautifully they underscored how tough Tornado performed.” Duke growled, his protective instincts kicking into gear. “Doesn’t look like they’re offering her a re-ride either,” Jake said. If the judges deemed that a bull had a bad night and underperformed, thus not allowing the rider to achieve a competitive score, a rider sometimes received an opportunity to scratch their score and try again on another bull. “She should still be okay,” Caleb said. “If she can put up even just another adequate score like this one tomorrow afternoon she’ll make it into the ‘short round’ tomorrow night no problem.” “Watch closely tomorrow,” the other man suggested. “Your rider might have to cause a little trouble if this happens again.” “Will do.” Caleb’s lips narrowed to a thin line. “Oh hey, I’m sorry.” Caleb stepped back a bit. “Jake, this is Duke Boone. He’s the sheriff in Quinten, where Risa and I live. Duke, meet Jake Chase. He’s with the contractor that owns Tornado Alley.”

“So Risa’s score pissed you off for a reason.” Duke took Jake’s hand in a fast, hard shake. “That number has to hurt Tornado’s race for the championship.” “Yeah, but that’s only half of what pisses me off. Risa seems like a real nice young woman, and it’s not right that the people in charge think if she had a good ride then her draw must have had an off night.” Jake’s weathered face hardened to stone. “I’m gonna go find my boss. We’re gonna look into lodging a complaint on behalf of our bull. It might not make much difference this weekend, but it’ll put a little burr under the judges’ saddle for future events.” “Thanks.” Caleb shook Jake’s hand. “It’ll show that ownership of the stock won’t tolerate egregious underscoring of their animal. Indirectly, it’ll help Risa a great deal.” “I like the girl,” Jake answered. “She reminds me of my wife.” Shadows darkened the man’s eyes and his stance stiffened. “I have to go.” He dipped his dark head. “See you around.” “Bye.” “Good to meet you.” Jake moved in the direction of the chutes, and Caleb turned to Duke. “So.” He crossed his arms against his chest, a small smile playing on his face. “You ready to go behind the scenes and say hi?” Streaking lines of icy fire radiated to every corner of Duke’s body, ending with a shrieking “NO!” in his skull. Risa’s passion shone so brightly in this environment that it skittered panic in Duke to see it. “I don’t want her to see me.” Duke backed away from Caleb. “I don’t want to distract her riding tomorrow. Don’t tell her you saw me.” “Duke…” Duke held up a hand. “No. It isn’t up for discussion. I saw what I came for, and now I’m leaving. Bye.” Duke got the hell out of there. Fast. **** Duke hung outside the door to Risa’s motel room the next night, unable to stay away. From the shadows, away from Caleb this time, he’d watched her ride successfully in the second round today, and make it to the final “short go.” A hard toss in the last round put her near the bottom of the final fifteen riders, but even with that, the smile that still lit up her entire face reached inside Duke from the stands, sucking him even deeper under her spell. He had planned to get right on the road and head home, but he found his truck turning into the motel parking lot instead, the draw to Risa a magnet he found too hard to break. He did not understand this madness ruling his actions, or why he seemed to have no control over it. He got out of the truck and then climbed right back in, slamming the steering wheel with the heels of his hands. Risa was young and in such a place of discovery in her life. And he … was not. He should not be here. Should. Not. Cursing under his breath, he got out of the truck again and moved to her door. Before he hit the painted wood, Duke checked his knock and took a step back. As he did, the door swung open in front of him, and he lost his breath. “Oh!” Risa reared back, her eyes wide as she took him in. “Duke.” Her hand went to the pink-checkered shirt covering her breasts. “What are you doing in Bozeman?”

“I don’t exactly know,” he admitted, his voice rough. He cleared his throat. “Listen.” He glanced around the parking lot, feeling squirrely, as if prying eyes watched him. “Can we go inside and talk for a minute?” “Sure.” Risa stepped back and allowed Duke inside the small room. “Is everything all right?” She closed the door and leaned against it, but just as quickly shot right back upright and rushed him. “Is Luke all right?” She grabbed his forearm and squeezed. “My mom? Ren? What happened, Duke? Tell me.” “Damn it, no, everyone’s fine.” Sickness roiled in Duke’s stomach. How monstrously had he behaved about her riding for her to think he could only be in Bozeman to deliver tragic news about a loved one? Shame filled him, pushing him forward through his discomfort. “No one has been in an accident. I didn’t come here in an official capacity.” “Thank God.” Moisture filmed Risa’s grass-green eyes. She turned and braced her hands against the dresser. Her head turned down, she whispered huskily, “I don’t think I could have handled something happening to someone else I love.” Duke’s chest tightened, every soft feeling in him brimming to the surface for this one woman and her quiet strength. He automatically curled his hands around her shoulders and drew her back against his chest. As he wrapped his arms around her waist, his forearms brushed against the underside of her breasts. Her breath caught, and in the reflection of the mirror, her gaze met his. Molten fire swirled in their depths, and he knew he had never truly understood the term “feminine wiles” until this exact second while looking into her eyes. Everything in his life up until now had been veneer; this woman was the real deal, in every way. Watching him in the mirror, Risa pulled apart the top snaps on her button-front shirt. Rather than spreading the shirt wide and giving him an open view, she moved his palm up and drew it between the gap. Covering his hand over her breast, Risa squeezed. Right there, pressed against her, Duke grew very, very hard.

Chapter Six Risa held her breath, Duke’s palm poised against her breast, her heart visible in her eyes. It sometimes felt as if she’d loved this man forever, but just as she’d started accepting that it could never happen between them, he’d finally let go a little bit and kissed her. Although she never spoke of her feelings aloud to him, Duke had held her heart for the last seven years. The people who made guesses at her feelings thought it infatuation from the day he saved her life, but they had assumed wrong. Instead, Risa melted the first time Duke Boone sat down in the diner with her brother and Cain Hawkins, shortly after they’d come out publically as a couple. He ate lunch with them, shared a friendly conversation, and just in general set the tone for how the rest of the town would treat them. After her brother’s former boss outed him, Risa spent her days living with constant fear that someone would attack or kill her brother for being gay. Duke made it clear he would not tolerate such bigotry, not only through law, but also by his actions. At the time, she didn’t have any knowledge that he already suspected his own son’s homosexuality. By then his motives for treating her brother and Cain with kindness and respect hadn’t mattered, she’d already found a thousand other reasons to love him. The most important being that he didn’t think he needed it in his life anymore. Risa knew he did. Loneliness ate at him, she could see it and feel it every time he let her close to him. He needed someone to love him a thousand times more than she needed the reverse. Duke’s muscles went rigid behind her, and Risa latched onto his hand resting on her breast, holding it to her body. “Please.” In the mirror, she watched the battle raging in his amber eyes. “Touch me, Duke. Just once.” His jaw clenched visibly. He tore his gaze away, putting it on the door. He struggled for a way to walk away from her, Risa knew it. Before he could find it, she circled back against the hard ridge in his jeans, caressing her bottom over his erection. Duke jerked and snapped his focus back to her. His eyes darkening to molten gold, he slid his fingers under her bra and rubbed her nipple. The tender tip puckered and twisted under his rough fingers, and Risa gasped as shooting lines of pleasure raced to between her legs. He circled his callused pads over her sensitized flesh, and Risa’s sex contracted, squeezing tight. Dragging Duke’s hand to the front clasp of her bra, she held his gaze in the mirror with a request in her own. “You’ll turn me into a fool, I know it,” Duke muttered, his voice hard. “But I have to know too.” He released the clip, and beneath her shirt, the weight of her breasts spilled against his hand, plump and heavy. Risa could not see Duke’s hand kneading her flesh, but watching his eyes and feeling his fingers tweaking her rigid nipple somehow seemed a thousand times more intimate than lying naked in bed fucking. He watched her every response in the mirror, and he could surely feel her heart racing beneath the mound of skin he teased into a frenzy. Her pussy ached and reacted to his touch, dampening her cotton panties and jeans between

her legs. Her thighs trembling with excitement, she reached forward to stabilize her stance. Duke moved with her and dipped his mouth down to her ear. “Tell me.” His voice thickened with sensuality. “Tell me what’s going on with you right now.” “I’m wet,” Risa admitted, her heart pounding as she said the words. Every confession gave him more power over her, but she couldn’t stop. Her channel squeezed, looking for something to pull inside. “You have me so turned on I don’t know what to do.” “You know what to do.” Duke slid his hand down and unfastened her jeans. “You don’t let that kind of ache go unattended, baby, not someone as curious as you.” “I know.” Heat crept furiously up Risa’s neck and face, but she kept her gaze on his. “But tonight I want you to do it.” She covered his hand and helped him unzip her jeans. “Feel what you do to me. It has never happened for anyone else.” Duke rubbed her mound through her panties, and her knees buckled. She moved into his hand, desperate for his touch. He delved lower, and she added with a moan, “And it never will.” “Jesus.” Duke cupped her between the legs and ground his cock into her ass from behind. “Keep that talk up and you’ll make me come in my pants like a teenager.” His hand hovered so close to her wet, swollen nether lips, just a scrap of fabric in between his fingers and her needy cunt. She’d waited so long, held out hope against all the odds, wanting desperately to give her body to this one man, and no one else. Night after night, month after month, year after year, she turned down boys, and then men, who wanted to take their friendship to another level. Always, deep in her heart, she believed herself meant for Duke Boone. Only within the last year had logic and facts started interfering, making her doubt her feelings, questioning whether she only suffered a simple crush gone on too long. Even as that sadness and loss of her faith had crept in and created doubt, she still could not let go of her desire for Duke enough to accept intimacy with someone else. Two days ago in Duke’s office a glimmer of hope had resurged within her, something her heart had known all along. Tonight, when she had opened her motel room door, her head had fallen in line and accepted the truth. She and Duke could be together, and he had finally begun to understand that too. Risa wanted no more barriers between them, at all. Meeting his gaze, she covered his big hand on her crotch and guided it inside her panties. His eyes flared in the shadows, and his breath labored against her ear. Duke spread his fingers downward through her nest of curls, and Risa bucked into his hand. He pushed his long middle finger down along the line of her slit, and Risa’s thighs squeezed automatically in response, clamping down on his hand. “Aaahhhh…” “It’s okay, honey.” Duke rubbed the seam of her thigh with his other hand, relaxing her muscles. “Ease up a little bit and I’ll take care of that ache pulling on you so damn hard.” Risa grabbed onto his wrist and squeezed. “Don’t stop.” Her body loosened for him, and she leaned back against his chest. “Please don’t stop.” She beseeched him with her eyes as her pussy pulsed with excitement under his hand. “I’ve needed you for so long.” Duke’s lids slid closed and his jaw clenched. “Jesus, baby.” He delved his other hand

under her panties to join the first. As he opened his eyes, he lowered his gaze to the V of her legs. “You don’t have any idea what you do to a man when you talk like that.” He spread her swollen lips under her clothes. Wringing a startled cry out of her, he sank one long digit into her weeping sex. Risa’s channel greedily grabbed the invasion, pulling him deep inside. “Oh, my God.” She moaned low in her throat and clutched his hand, holding him in place. His finger, bigger and thicker than her own, wreaked havoc with just one flick of his tip over a hot button inside her vagina. Risa flooded at his command, wetting his fingers and her clothes even more. He used his other hand and painted circles on her blood-filled, protruding clit, and stole sanity right out of her head. Every nerve ending in Risa’s body felt exposed and raw, scraping painfully against her clothing, driving her nuts. Her shirt rubbed relentlessly over her nipples, dragging the ultra-sensitive skin to hard, jutting points. She couldn’t stand the teasing, constant touch and pushed the fabric aside, exposing her breasts to the cool, motel room air. She looked like a complete wanton, but couldn’t help it and didn’t care. Her eyes reflecting green and glassy in the mirror, she circled her hips against Duke’s hands, taking deeply of everything he gave her. Throwing her head back against his shoulder, she allowed him to support her completely. Risa covered her breasts and began stroking her beaded nipples with her own fingers. Duke cursed under his breath, his gaze transfixed on her breasts as her berry red tips slid in and out of view between her fingers. “You’ve got good instincts, honey.” He pushed another finger into her pussy, stretching her even more, and started to thrust. “I’ve never seen anyone who knows how to handle herself better than you. You commanded that crowd this weekend with the same authority you’re handling me right now. I can’t look away from you any more than they could.” Risa’s hand flew to her mouth to cover a sob. “You mean it?” Her eyes filled with moisture and hope. “You really came and saw me ride?” “God knows I tried to stay away.” Duke worked his fingers in and out of her aching channel with greater speed. She bounced over his buried digits as she listened, needing to feel him deeper inside her gripping sex. “My head knows this is a bad idea, but Christ”— he swept the length of her dripping sex with his fingers, splitting her open wide inside her clothes…”every other damn part of me wants to crawl inside your tight little body and never get out.” He opened his mouth over her ear and sank his tongue inside, taking her in another intimate, yet base, way. He tickled her clit with his thumb, whipping her into a vibrating frenzy of feeling. “Imagine it’s my cock.” His hot breath flickered over the moist skin of her ear, and he rubbed his thick bulge against her ass, forcing the seam of her jeans into her crease. “Close your eyes and picture me fucking you hard and deep”—he plunged his fingers into her pussy, sending her right up onto her toes…”taking you without quarter until we both explode and come.” He took her clit and her cunt at the same time, wringing every last twisting, coiling sensation up into a too tight ball in her lower belly, a hundred times more than Risa had ever experienced by playing with herself. She grabbed his wrist in her hands, holding him inside her body as her channel pulsated and squeezed around Duke’s embedded fingers, reaching, reaching for that ultimate release. He rubbed over a patch of skin just inside her sex, and Risa dug her fingers into Duke’s arm as she lost control. She moaned and

shuddered, her body wracked with tremors as she came hard, drenching Duke’s fingers and hand with liquid orgasm, something she had never experienced before on her own. Not giving herself time to recover, Risa pulled Duke’s hands from between her legs and spun around, taking his mouth in a hard, teeth-clinking kiss. Moaning, he steadied her head and pushed his tongue through her seam. Risa opened up and accepted, but her fingers itched to do more. She wanted him aroused and crying out at her touch, the way he did in all of her dreams. Tangling her tongue with his, she whimpered with delight when he nipped her tip with his teeth. She reached for his belt and started to tug. He broke the connection of their kiss, his breath heavy and labored against her kisssensitive lips. “No, wait.” He wrapped his fingers around her wrists and tried to still her hands. Risa got his belt and button undone within the manacle of his hold. As she slid his zipper down, she looked up and met his swirling, golden gaze. “I can feel how hard you are.” She leaned in and kissed his heart through his shirt. He quaked in front of her, and she smiled. Glancing up at him, she added, “I’m not so naïve that I don’t know what an erection means.” She slid her hand into his underwear and touched a penis for the first time. His hot, rigid length pulsed and jumped in her hand. Duke hissed and leaned his forehead against hers. “You have to stop… Ahh!” He covered her hand, stilling her as she squeezed his velvety smooth cock. “Nobody has touched me like this in a long time.” “Why?” she whispered, scraping his mouth with hers. “Tell me why.” His eyes opened and locked on hers. “You know why.” His voice sounded strangled and gravelly. “It shouldn’t be, it’s not right, but Jesus”—he sucked air into his lungs as she wrapped her fingers around his width and dragged her hand down to his bulbous tip…”you goddamned know why.” “Say it.” She stroked his long, hard penis in her strong hold again. Her breath caught on the fire in his eyes. “Say my name.” His gaze dropped down the length of her shadowed body. He stared at her breasts, framed by her open shirt and bra, and then her jeans and underwear, still riding low on her hips with a hint of her curls peeking out from the waistband of her panties. He took the same line in reverse, his gaze open with his desire for the first time in their relationship. “Risa.” He tilted her head back and captured her mouth in a deep, exploratory kiss. “I’ve fucking been celibate for a year and a half because of you.” Her heart clamped to a stop and then raced like mad. She cupped her hand around the head of his burning penis and rubbed the leaking tip. As she did, she said against his mouth, “I’ve never let another man have me because of my feelings for you.” Duke’s entire body jerked before her. He cried out hoarsely, and thick wetness filled Risa’s hand. Duke trembled as he came, hard, shocking Risa’s novice senses, but not enough to let go. She took this man’s warm cum into her hand as he spurted, letting his essence seep between her fingers, coating her palm as she’d done to him only moments ago. The thick, pungent fragrance of sex laced the air, filling both their senses as they shared short, choppy breaths between them. “Shit.” Duke’s voice sounded thick and rough. “That was embarrassing.” “No, that was…”

The shrill ring of the motel room phone reverberated loud in the small room, slicing right through the intimacy of the moment. Risa yanked her hand out of Duke’s jeans, and he jumped about a foot in the air, foul cursing spewing from his lips as he did. “That’s probably Caleb.” Risa glanced at the digital clock on the bedside stand, next to the damn, infernal phone. “We’re meeting a local rancher for a late dinner. I bet he’s wondering where I am.” Duke jerked his head in the direction of the phone. “Answer it,” he said sharply. He looked down at his disheveled state, cursed some more, and turned away. “We don’t want him to worry and come looking for you.” A jab of pain pierced Risa’s heart, but she stiffened her back and picked up the phone. “Hello?” She watched Duke fix his clothing out of the corner of her eye and could have happily killed Alexander Graham Bell for inventing the phone. “This is Risa.” “Hey, sis,” her brother’s deep voice rang familiar over the line. “Hi, Luke.” Risa spoke her brother’s name, and Duke flinched on the other side of the bed. “Congratulations on getting into the final round today,” Luke said excitedly. “We just got your message, and you sounded so thrilled. I wish Cain and I could have driven there for the finals”—Risa heard Cain’s voice shout a “Hi, Risa!” in the background…”but Forrest-Hawk had too many riders booked this weekend for us to get away. So, we want to know, how’d you do in the ‘short go’?” “Not so good,” Risa shared. “I got bucked off in three seconds.” “I’m sorry.” Tenderness laced Luke’s voice. “Who’d you draw on the ride?” “Loverboy.” Luke whistled long and low. “Tough bull.” “The rankest,” Risa answered distractedly, her gaze on Duke as he made his way to the door. “Twenty outs with no rides. Listen”—she stretched the cord of the phone and grabbed at Duke’s arm…”I’ll call you back a little later. Okay?” “We’ll be home all night.” Luke smooched through the phone. “Love you.” “Love you, too. Bye.” Risa threw the receiver back into the cradle and turned to Duke. “What’s the matter? Where are you going?” “Are you kidding me?” Duke’s lips narrowed down to a thin line. “Your brother just called, damn it.” “So?” “So?” Duke mocked. He shoved his fingers through his dark hair, leaving great tunnels in its thick wake. “We could not have gotten a more sobering reminder as to why we cannot do this. It is a bad idea, Risa, all the way around.” Frustration and rejection did battle inside Risa’s core. “What?” Her voice caught unexpectedly, and she had to stop. She shook her head, determined, and stuck her chin up high. “I don’t understand what you just said. It makes absolutely no sense.” Duke’s jaw clenched. He leaned in close, his eyes flashing bright. “It means that your brother is a good friend of mine. It means that I may have forgotten it for a minute, but hearing you say his name reminded me that not only am I old enough to be your father, but I could practically be your older brother’s father, too.” “No you could not,” Risa scoffed. “Besides, what does that have to do with

anything? Age doesn’t mat…” “It matters, Risa,” Duke cut in. “Trust me, it matters. People talk, people gossip, people can be vicious, belittling, and cruel, and they can make your life hell if they choose to. Neither one of us needs that for a quick roll in the hay.” Risa reeled. “You don’t mean that.” She took a deep breath, surprised she still could after Duke’s cold remark. “You know it could never be as simple and trivial between us as a quick roll in the sack.” “And maybe that’s worse,” Duke charged. “Did you ever think of that? Those remarks will hurt a whole hell of a lot more if you actually care.” Risa narrowed her gaze on Duke’s closed, hard features. “You’re not afraid for me, Duke.” Understanding flicked on like a light bulb over her head. “You’re afraid for you. Your ex-wife did one hell of a number on you and you’re scared.” Duke’s gaze glittered with menace. “I’m not discussing my ex-wife with you.” “Why?” Risa challenged. “Because I’m too young to understand your pain and fear of being hurt again? That’s ridiculous. I understand pain and rejection. I understand the kind of stuff that goes so deep it makes you want to shut down inside. I was five years old when my father shot my mother and left her for dead, and then killed himself.” “And maybe your infatuation with me is a way to replace what you never had with him.” The low blow almost took Risa’s legs out from under her. She pulled at her shirt, fastened the snap between her breasts, and yanked her jeans back up around her waist. “Get out.” She shoved him aside, his big frame nothing against the strength of emotion roiling within her. “You get the hell out.” She opened the door and pointed to the darkened parking lot, her whole arm shaking. “Risa.” “No, huh uh.” She shook her head, all traces of desire gone. “You find a way to deal with your own insecurities, you son of a bitch. Don’t you dare throw them on me ever again.” Duke moved outside, his hands clenching in fists at his sides. “Risa…” “I don’t want to hear it,” Risa interrupted, her voice wavering in a way she hated. She wiped moisture from her eyes, forced herself not to hide, and met his gaze head on. “You may find this hard to believe, but from the day I met you and you saved my life, I have always seen myself as an equal to you. I view myself on level with every damn person I meet, because that’s how important and loved my brother made me feel. Luke became the only father figure I ever needed, and later, Nate became the only one I ever wanted. You…” She swallowed past the lump in her throat. “You’re just the only man I ever wanted to love.” Duke’s entire face blanched, and Risa slammed the door in his face.

Chapter Seven Duke leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, pictures of his old life haunting him in ways they hadn’t done in years. Risa hurling that accusation at him in her motel room two weeks ago had stirred up old demons, old anger, and old promises he had made to himself when he’d finally left Brenda Bennett Boone for good. Duke didn’t like thinking about that part of his and Ren’s former life, but memories pushed in, taking him back to that day… “Let me in, Carol, I know she’s here!” Duke banged on the front door with the side of his fist, determined to find his wife. “I won’t stop hitting this door until I talk to her, damn it.” Finally, after what felt like an eternity of people gawking at him from behind their curtains, the chipped blue-painted door in front of him opened. Before him stood his wife’s newest “best friend” the one Duke suspected had introduced Brenda to hardcore drugs. “Where is she?” he bit off, swirling fear, anger, and hurt making his voice clipped and icy. “I want to see her right now.” “Too bad.” Carol nonchalantly twisted her scraggly blond hair in one of her hands. “She doesn’t want to see you.” Duke’s jaw clenched so hard he felt certain that not only could this woman see it, she likely heard it too. “Do you want me on your doorstep in an official capacity, lady?” He braced his hand on the doorjamb and leaned down into her face. “Because one call can get your house searched within the hour.” He likely couldn’t make that happen, but she didn’t know that. “I don’t think you want that.” His wife, her pale eyes big and wide, taking over her too thin face, appeared over Carol’s shoulder. “What do you want, Duke? I’ll be home in the morning to watch Ren when you go to work, I already told you that. Why are you here?” Duke’s gaze slid to Carol, her eyes too calculating for his peace of mind. “Do you mind?” he asked the woman, his voice harsh. “Yeah, actually I do mind,” Carol answered. “This is my house.” Dismissing her, Duke lifted his attention back to Brenda. “Can we go sit in the car and talk? Just for a few minutes. Please?” Brenda rolled her eyes, but pushed past her friend. “Fine.” She moved past him without sparing him a glance. “You’ve got five minutes, Duke.” She slid in on the passenger side of his vehicle parked on the curb. “You’d better get moving.” Duke strode quickly and climbed in behind the wheel. He shifted in the seat and looked at his wife’s bottomless blue eyes, and his heart ached for how much he’d loved her, right from the start. “I can help you,” he said tentatively, non-combative, as he’d already had to do twice in their relationship. “We’ll find you a good rehab program and get you off the drugs. Nobody needs to know about it but you and me.” She only arched a dark brow. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” “Don’t play dumb with me, Brenda. I’ve seen your stash.” When she didn’t flinch or show any sign of cracking, he added, “In the closet, tucked in the back corner on the top shelf in a box labeled ‘Christmas Photos.’”

That got her upright, indignation firing her eyes. “You had no right to search my stuff.” Duke just barely resisted the urge to shake her. “And you had no damn right to have shit like that in our home. We have a kid, damn it. What if he had found it and thought that little vial had sugar in it, huh? What the hell would you be caring about your rights being violated if Ren ended up in the emergency room having his stomach pumped, or… or…” He shuddered. “Or worse.” “Oh, so that’s how you found out,” Brenda snarked. “The kid came running right to you, just like he always does.” “That kid loves you and is terrified that you’re going to die, goddamnit!” Duke lost any sense of calm or cool. “You think they don’t learn about drugs in school and on television these days? For Christ’s sake, he’s barely eight years old and he knew exactly what it meant when he saw you lean over our dresser and sniff. Now I don’t know how far this has gone…” “It’s recreational. I can handle it.” “Not in our house you can’t. You need to let me take you away from this Carol person right now and get you some help before this ends up wrecking your life.” A sharp bark of laughter burst from Brenda, making Duke’s skin crawl. “What life?” she snorted. “The one where I live the glamorous life of a part time salesperson at KMart? The one where my boring-ass husband takes everything so damn seriously and doesn’t know how to lighten up and have some fun? The one where my kid rats me out every damn time he sees me doing something he thinks is wrong so that he can be a superhero, just like his brand new daddy? That life, Duke? The one I hate with such a fucking passion I’ll do just about anything to escape it for five fucking minutes, whether it be drink, food, a little coke”—she laid a pointed stare on him…”men.” Duke became very, very still, on the outside. On the inside, his entire body vibrated with white hot rage and the black urge to destroy. Pulling every ounce of control he’d ever learned to employ into full service right in that moment, he simply murmured, “I didn’t know you felt that way.” Inside, he screamed, but he would never let this woman see him sweat again. “You hid it very well.” “No, I didn’t,” she said. “You just didn’t want to see. You had the perfect little life that your own pathetic childhood never gave you, and you didn’t care that it wasn’t real. I got you so easily, Detective. It took nothing more than a couple of blowjobs where I let you come in my mouth, a few tedious fuck sessions in the missionary position, and I had you on a string, leading you right to marriage, exactly where you wanted to go.” “No.” Duke shook his head, all traces of the death he suffered inside concealed from this woman he no longer recognized. He wondered now if he’d ever known her at all. “You had me with Ren, and you knew it. The rest was all window dressing to trick the eye.” His teeth ached from holding everything down, but he swallowed and kept his pain deep inside. Hidden far away from this woman. As much as he wanted to kick her out of the car and run, he hadn’t yet finished his mission. Forcing himself to meet her angry gaze, he said, “We can still drive away from here right now. Let me get you the help you need to kick this new habit. Let’s get you clean first, and then you can decide what you want to do next.” “Ever the white knight,” Brenda replied, the wistfulness in her voice mocking him to

his face. “Always gotta do the right thing, no matter what.” “We have a son…” “No, I have a son,” she corrected. “You have a zealot.” Duke growled, wanting to shield the picture of Ren in his wallet, as if the boy could hear his mother’s terrible words through the photo. “You will not come back to our house while you are doing drugs,” he promised. “I will not let you near Ren and risk his life.” “I would never hurt my child.” “You’re lying to yourself. You already have, more than once.” “You can’t take him away from me.” “You don’t get clean,” Duke warned, “and you just watch me do it.” “Go ahead and try.” Brenda opened the door and got out, but leaned down for one last word. “They’ll never give him to you over me. I’m his mother.” “No,” Duke corrected, “right now, all you are is a drug addict.” Pictures of a sobbing, hysterical Ren burying his face in Duke’s chest, wheezing his fear through his tears that his mommy would die filled Duke’s mind, compelling him to act. “You know where to find me if you want help.” “Smug bastard.” “People have called me worse.” Brenda slammed the car door and stomped back to the house, a waiting Carol there, triumph in her eyes. Duke pulled his gaze off his wife, his heart cracking inside over the lie of their life. On the drive home, he desperately tried to sober and level his careening thoughts. He couldn’t break. He cared about one thing and one thing only now. He had a son to protect. **** “Boss? Boss? Duke?” Duke heard his name punctuated with authority and jerked his head out of his disturbing memories. Across the desk, his focus landed on Cade’s wide, concerned gaze. Duke rubbed his face, wiping away all traces of his old life. Nobody ever needed to know. He couldn’t risk the worst of his ex-wife’s cruelty ever getting back to Ren. His son might be a man now, but no one ever wanted to know his parent had spoken of him with such coarse crassness. “I apologize for not paying attention,” Duke said. “I’m a little bit tired.” With his mind taken over by Risa and what had happened between them, Duke hadn’t had a decent nights sleep in two weeks. “Go ahead and tell me everything again.” “I said I’m pretty sure this thief is a teenager, since the stuff being taken is small, and for the most part worthless as a resell. A smart kid, probably bored living in a small town.” Cade slid a hand-sketched map of Quinten and its closely surrounding neighborhoods onto the desk. The twenty by thirty sheet of paper had little circle stickers with numbers on them and marker-drawn lines attaching them to the next. “If we have the order of the thefts correct, within the randomness of it all I can see a pattern, probably a subconscious one on the thief’s part. See, he hit a house on opposite ends of town, then the dry cleaners. Then he targeted two houses on the north side of town, and the feed store. Next, we had two houses from the south side of town, and then Nate’s. Finally,

yesterday we get one on the north side of town.” Cade lifted his gaze to Duke, his eyes bright with confidence. “My money says he’ll hit a house on the south side before he hits another store. What do you think?” “I think seven damn months is way too long not to have caught this fucker yet.” Duke got up and started to pace as frustration seeped into his bones on every level of his life. “And I think we’re gonna have to figure out how in the hell we case a neighborhood with over two hundred houses without this guy knowing we’re there. We put anyone in uniform or a marked vehicle in that area and the guy won’t ever show. And damn it, I want to catch this kid just as much as I want these thefts to stop. I’m tired of this asshole making us look like we don’t care about this vandalism just because the individual thefts don’t hit a felony level.” Right then, Duke couldn’t stop his thoughts from drifting to Risa, and how she’d become tangled up in this too. Christ, it had directly caused their first kiss. “I want him caught, and I want this over.” “Deputy Stuart has lived on the south side of town for almost a year now,” Cade said. “She could probably give us the names of a dozen people we can trust to quietly keep their eyes open without being obvious about it. We already have her in the neighborhood. I think the girl Deputy Maxwell is dating might live in that area as well. It might be worth seeing if he can intrude on her space without it looking unnatural.” Cade shrugged his shoulders. “It’s a place to start.” Duke threw open his office door. “Sarah!” he roared at his receptionist/dispatcher. A dark-haired young woman glanced up from her desk and pointedly rubbed her ears. “Yes, boss?” she said cheekily. “How may I assist you?” “Sorry.” Duke lifted a hand in apology. Jesus, he had turned into a bear lately. “You can help me by locating Max and Jace for me.” “It’s Maxie’s day off,” Sarah reminded him. “And Jace is responding to a fight that broke out down at the feed store.” “Everything okay?” Duke automatically straightened. “Does he need some backup?” “No, he has already checked in. At this point, no one is pressing charges. Just a couple of cowboys getting a little hot under the collar about a girl.” “All right.” Duke nodded. “I want to talk to him when he gets back. I also need you to call Max and tell her I need her to come in, please. Plain clothes. I just need to talk. Okay?” “On it.” Sarah immediately picked up the phone and started dialing. “I’ll have her here in a jiff.” Duke shut his office door. “Now we’re back to waiting.” He moved to his desk and threw himself down into his chair. “I fucking hate being on the defensive.” He threw Cade a hard look. “This jackass has worked my last nerve past the breaking point. We had better damn well catch him soon or I don’t have any business being the sheriff in this town.” Cade shifted forward in his seat and clasped his hands between his knees. “You okay, Duke?” Images of that short span of time in Risa’s motel room bombarded Duke’s senses. Its rich, raw energy hit him a thousand times more intensely than any of his fantasies. Christ, he could still feel her wet heat on his hands. He could also still remember her face after he’d behaved like an insensitive prick. Damn, he’d stuck his foot into a pile of crap and

hurt her, all because he couldn’t play patient to her armchair shrink and talk about his history. Shit, he could not believe he had accused her of hitting on him because she had “daddy” issues. He didn’t know anyone more put together and complete a person than Risa Forrester. “I’m all right.” Duke shook off the memories of the only woman these days who had the power to make him hard. “Just not getting a lot of sleep with this damn case still unsolved.” “Is that it?” Cade asked, his gaze piercing and unrelenting. “Nothing else?” Duke clicked a ballpoint pen open and closed under his thumb, again, and again, and again. “Plenty else.” He shut down all thoughts of Risa; he could not afford to have anything flicker over his face that would tip off a perceptive guy like Cade. “Just nothing I want to talk about.” “Fair enough.” Cade got up with his map and tacked it to a large corkboard alongside a chronological list of the theft victims and the stolen item or items from each location. For the most part jewelry from homes, a denim jacket and a half dozen dress shirts from the dry cleaners, a camping grill, lantern, and a fancy Bic lighter from the feed store, as well as the stuff from Risa’s place. “So”—Cade perched his hip on a low file cabinet…”you feel like coming over for dinner? Last night Ren mentioned that we should to take you out for a meal sometime soon, but why don’t you just come over tonight instead? We’d love to have you.” Translation: Ren was worried that Duke had become a recluse since Ren had moved out and created a new home with Cade. “I’m not hiding out at home all by my lonesome,” Duke growled. “Don’t turn me into that cliché old guy who can’t take care of himself now that he’s living on his own.” “I’m not throwing you a pity date, Duke.” Cade didn’t cow under Duke’s mood one bit. “If you think you might enjoy a free meal and dinner conversation with me and your son, then come. If not, don’t.” Duke’s jaw clenched, and he bit off, “I’ll take it.” Lord knew if he went straight home he would spend the entire night thinking about Risa and how in the hell he could fix the damage he’d done by acting so impulsively in that motel room. Even with the hard words between them afterward, he knew coming in each other’s hands would be the first thing that would enter their minds when they crossed paths again. Duke’s cock stirred in his jeans, reminding him how desperately he wanted to take it to the next step. He needed inside her tight body. He wanted to fuck her until they both came again and she passed out from the pleasure. He shook it off and put his focus on the bastard toying with his town. It wouldn’t do to get a hard-on on the job, especially since he couldn’t satisfy it with anything other than his own hand. “Sherriff.” The old intercom on Duke’s desk buzzed to life, Sarah’s voice on the other end. “Deputy Stuart is here.” Duke held the “talk” button down. “Send her in.” Anticipation rolled over Duke in familiar, electric-charged waves. Glancing at Cade, he saw a familiar gleam in his deputy’s dark eyes. They had become the hunters, and in law enforcement, not much felt better than that. Duke took in the feeling eagerly. It felt good to have at least one aspect of his life sliding back into proper place. After the last few weeks, he had to question if the others

ever would. Duke had never wanted or been with a woman quite like Risa; her unpredictability unsettled him as nothing in his life ever had before. Fuck. **** “Okay, Mom,” Luke said, phone to his ear. “Have fun in Italy. We’ll talk to you again in a few days.” Luke put the receiver back in its cradle and turned his attention to his sister. “You all right, Ris?” He reached across to the recliner where she sat and rubbed her knee. “You didn’t eat much for dinner and you hardly talked to mom for five minutes. Is everything okay with you?” Risa turned pure green eyes up to Luke, and just as from the moment his mom and dad had brought her home from the hospital, his love for his baby sister swelled deeply in his heart. She had suffered the brunt of their poverty worse than he or his mother had. She had been too young to understand the drastic changes in their life on the heels of their father killing himself and putting their mother in a wheelchair. As a little girl, and then into adolescence, the difficulty of going without any of the necessities that might help a kid fit in at new school after new school as they moved around from county to county had affected Risa greatly. Powerless and afraid for so many years, she finally rallied around thirteen or fourteen and became a force to behold. After that, it seemed as if she never looked backward and had completely removed the lost, sad look in her expressive gaze. Until now. “Okay.” Luke sat up straight. “Who in the hell hurt you? I want to know what’s going on right now.” “Nothing.” Risa stood up abruptly, rubbing her arms. “No one,” she added, and began a slow, focused pacing of Luke and Cain’s small, open cabin. “Risa.” Sitting on the couch next to Luke, Cain wrapped his hand around Luke’s knee and squeezed. “Honey.” Luke’s gaze snapped up to Cain’s blue one and Cain mouthed the words, “Don’t push.” Luke opened his mouth, and Cain quickly covered it with a kiss. His lips lingered, whispering, “Backing her into a corner won’t help.” His eyes softened and he rubbed his palm over Luke’s heart, gentling him in the way that only Cain could. “You’ve laid the groundwork all her life, darlin’. When she needs someone, she’ll come straight to you.” Risa’s voice carried from the shadows of the kitchen on the other side of the room. “Do you think pairs of people are destined to connect?” She ran her finger along the surface of the bar. “Or do you think the universe is random and lots of people could be compatible with each other, and it’s just a matter of who you meet first?” “I think the truth is whatever you believe in your heart,” Luke answered. “If you think there’s one special person out there for you then that’s how you will go about your search for romance. Similarly, if you think endless possibilities for finding love exist then you’ll likely have genuine love for more than one person in your lifetime. Neither is right or wrong, it’s just how you feel.” “Cop out answer, brother.” Risa rejoined Luke and Cain, sitting down in the recliner once again. She turned her intense focus on to Cain. “What do you think, Cain? And tell

me the truth.” Cain’s attention never wavered from Risa. “I think God created me to fall in love with Luke. I knew when I met him that every wall and barrier I’d put up against falling to those feelings would be decimated and there would be nowhere I could hide from him. We didn’t have an easy time of it in the beginning, but every drop of blood, sweat, and tears we put out makes us appreciate what we have now that much more. I know men and women lose their spouses all the time and find love again, but for me, I honestly don’t believe I can ever love anyone else the way I love Luke.” Cain shrugged his shoulders, his face flushing crimson. “Anyway, that’s my two cents, for what it’s worth.” “It’s worth a lot,” Risa murmured. She chewed on her lip and drummed her fingers on the arm of the chair. “I just don’t know if believing is enough. He’s so stubborn, and he won’t dare admit his past makes him gun-shy with me. You would think the very fact that he is so hesitant would tell him that his feelings must be real, but no, he has to go and accuse me of having ‘issues’ with my past, rather than admit that he’s scared of what he wants. Well, too damn bad.” Risa shot to her feet and headed for the front door. “I won’t change, and I can’t hide anymore, so he can just damn well deal with the woman I have become. Thank you, guys.” She grabbed her Indianapolis Colts ball cap off a hook and pulled it low over her forehead. “You’ve helped me a lot. Thanks for dinner. And just in case I don’t see you, wish me luck for my event this weekend.” Luke threw Cain a puzzled look as he got to his feet and moved to Risa’s side. “Good luck, sweetie.” He leaned down and pecked a kiss on her cheek. “I’ll be sure to call to see how it went.” “Same goes for me.” Cain kissed her other cheek. “We’ll be here working, but we’ll be thinking ‘eight seconds, eight seconds’ just for you.” “Thanks.” As Risa moved to her truck, Luke and Cain watched from their porch. They waved until they couldn’t see her anymore and then Luke turned to Cain. “What in the hell was that about?” he asked, his gaze drifting back to the empty dirt road. “Oh, I think that’s pretty obvious.” Cain slipped his hand in Luke’s and pulled him back inside. “Your baby sister is full-out in love.” “No way.” Luke followed Cain to their bedroom, his thoughts still in a whirl. “She’s too young. She can’t be in love.” “Sweetheart.” Cain unbuttoned Luke’s shirt and slipped it off his wide shoulders. Leaning in, he pressed a line of baby kisses along Luke’s chest and let his fingers drift to Luke’s belt. “She is twenty-four years old. You were only one year older than that when you fought for us with every part of your soul. She’s plenty old enough, trust me.” “I suppose so.” Luke sat down on the bed and let Cain remove his boots, unable to focus on what his husband did to him, even with his jeans halfway down his legs and Cain’s wonderful fingers stroking his cock. Suddenly stilling Cain’s questing hands, Luke slid his finger under Cain’s chin, drawing his gaze up. “But with who?” “Seriously?” Cain sat back on his heels. “You really haven’t seen it?” “What?” A chill slid down Luke’s spine. “Who?” “Honey.” Cain slid in between Luke’s legs and cupped his face, his eyes crinkling with indulgent love. “I can’t believe you never noticed it”—he tilted his head thoughtfully…”or that we’ve never talked about it before. Darlin’, Risa has been in love with Duke Boone for years.”

Luke thanked God for the mattress beneath his ass. Otherwise, his legs would have buckled and tumbled him to the floor. Damn, he’d had no fucking idea.

Chapter Eight Risa paced a groove into the dirt while waiting for her turn to ride. She replayed in her mind every piece of tape she had watched on The Reaper—the bull she’d drawn in this first go—and his tendencies during a ride. He liked to spin, and he favored turning away from the rider’s hand. She had to have perfect balance from the get go and she’d need her spurs turned in tight from right out of the chute, or he would toss her off in under three seconds. She had to qualify in both rounds one and two today. It was a one day event, and if she didn’t place she wouldn’t make it to the final round tonight. She needed a top fifteen finish in order to win additional prize money, enough to maintain her status in this minor league PBR series. Twenty-five hundred earned over the course of the season or she would have to re-qualify, re-submit her membership, and wait for a slot to reopen on the tour. “Hey, Risa,” a gravelly voice broke into her thoughts. Risa looked up, automatically smiling as she recognized Jake Chase. Made sense that his boss’s outfit would be at this Idaho event; stock contractors worked the tour regionally so as not to stress the animals with long, cross-country trips. Risa only rode regionally so she expected to see Jake’s face a lot. “Hi, Jake.” Risa shook the cowboy’s hand. “How’s it going?” Jake shrugged, his face a mask of shadows beneath his black Stetson. “Not what I signed on with Morrison’s Ranch for, but someone has to fill in. Listen.” He took her arm and moved her out of the way of an angry rider who hadn’t covered his ride. “I just wanted to wish you luck. I’ll be working the chute when Morrison’s stock is performing, so I’ll be holding your vest if you make it to the ‘short go’.” “That’s great. I’ll take all the friendly faces I can get.” She chuckled, adding, “With the way Caleb and I travel around together so much people tend to think we’re married. Trust me”—Risa thought about how much Caleb felt like another brother to her, and cringed…”we’re not.” “You have one more cheerleader today,” Jake offered. “I just saw the sheriff with Caleb. It must feel good to have a little bit of hometown support this far away.” “Yeah.” The back of Risa’s neck flamed with heat under her thick braid, and her heart skittered to new life under her vest. Duke had showed. Quickly, Risa shook off the nervous excitement and put it on the back burner. She would deal with Duke Boone after the event. “It feels great to have extra support. Listen, I have to get to the chutes.” She started back-walking in the right direction. “I know he’s not your bull, but any last minute tips on The Reaper?” “Yeah.” A small smile cracked Jake’s hard face. “Hold on tight and don’t fall off.” “Right. Thanks.” She slipped on her riding glove. “I’ll be seeing you in the chutes tonight.” “I have no doubt.” Jake put a hand to his hat and then disappeared from Risa’s sight. Risa put her game face on, and psyched herself up to ride. ****

With a successful ride on The Reaper and Macho Man under her belt, Grand Slam bucked hard between Risa’s legs, skipping and spinning on the flip of a switch, no pattern to his style at all. The bull’s moves ripped at her riding arm up to her shoulder, challenging her to keep her chin down and chest and free arm forward for balance. She could hear the din of the crowd in the background of her mind, but Risa only cared about covering this “short go” ride. Grand Slam stopped his spin and suddenly faded backward fast. Risa’s seat shifted at the quick change and she started to slide. On reflex, she dug her dull spurs against the bull’s thick hide and clamped her inner thighs around his massive width, squeezing with every ounce of her strength as she tilted to the side. She fisted the rope in her hand, willing her fingers to stay closed and keep her on the bull. The ring spun in a fast circle as she hung off the side of Grand Slam, dizzying in his blurry speed. Risa dug hard, deeper than she ever had on a ride before, holding tight as every muscle in her body stretched and screamed to give this “out” up. In her head, she shouted “Never!” The sound reverberated in her skull as emphatically as if she had yelled it from the highest stands in the crowd. Risa’s riding wrist twisted and pulled at her tendons, still inflamed from her earlier injury. Her fingers started to loosen their grip on the rope, the action beyond the command of her brain, simply a matter of physics that she could not override. Just as Risa cried, “No, no,” a horn jarred like a bullet in her ears, signaling the successful end of her ride. Risa grabbed the handhold with her free hand, releasing the wrap of the rope before she fell to the ground. Hard-packed dirt greeted her hip, arm, and shoulder as she hit, rattling her teeth with the force of her fall. She scrambled to her knees, but not fast enough. Grand Slam head-butted her back, forcing her face-first into the dirt. He bumped her again before she could crawl, his hot breath whistling over her neck, just as pissinducing as the weight behind his hit. Shouts from the bullfighters corralling the animal reached through the fog in Risa’s ears. She somehow found her footing and raced for the fencing on adrenaline alone. Risa pulled off her helmet, pocketed her mouth guard, and immediately turned in the direction of the board. With her breath trapped in her lungs, she waited for her scores. Each of the four judges’ numbers came up one at a time, the wait between each ten to fifteen seconds a lifetime to Risa’s heart. Finally, the last one appeared. The average of the four, added to the bull’s—her total score—came up quickly, and Risa whooped at the top of her lungs. Joy raced through every inch of her body, leaving her feeling high. 89.50 total score. Forty-four for her ride, and forty-five and a half for the bull’s skill. A fantastic and fair number; surely enough to put her in the top ten. Risa swiveled on the fence as the crowd clapped and hooted, her focus zeroing in across the ring where Caleb always watched her ride. She found him in the cluster of VIP’s, his fist pumping and high fiving everyone around him. Risa could not see Duke anywhere in the crowd celebrating with Caleb. He hadn’t stayed for her final ride. Hurt stabbed Risa’s chest, more piercing than the shooting pain in her arm from holding on during her ride. How could Duke do that? He offered her hope by showing up, only to snatch it cruelly away. She didn’t understand. “Hey, cowgirl!” A young rider walked by, his hand low for some skin. “Helluva ride, helluva ride!” “Thanks.” Risa slapped the cowboy’s outstretched palm as he moved past her,

turning with him as he headed for the chutes. “Have a great ride, Jason. I want a good battle for my top ten finish tonight. Heck”—her face heated with her excitement…”might even be top five.” “I’ll give you a good run.” The young man winked and touched the brim of his hat. “We both have a good chance at winning some money. Either way, you share a beer with me at The Stockyard tonight. All right?” Risa’s chest swelled with pride. “Absolutely.” She gave him a thumbs up and headed to medical. She got a “good go,” and a “nice ride,” along the way from a couple of other guys. The warmth of slowly growing camaraderie sank into her bones, almost chasing away the lingering chill. Some people didn’t have any difficulty showing their happiness for her. Risa surrounded herself with their praise and kindness and forced Duke’s callous disappearance out of her mind. **** Duke entered the loud, dimly lit bar and dance hall, the pull too powerful to stay away. He knew he should already be on the road heading toward home, but he found that he could not ignore the gut-churning emotions Risa had riled up in him today. Watching a bull come this close to trampling her in the ring tonight tore him to shreds. He had immediately moved in for her, but couldn’t get to her quickly enough through the crowd. By the time he reached hearing and seeing distance to her, he overheard that young buck invite her out for a drink. Risa had smiled vibrantly and given the man a thumbs up, and Duke held back in the shadows, his head making the argument that this was for the best and he should step out of the way. His heart wouldn’t let him go back to Quinten without checking on her one more time, though. And maybe, just maybe, to have a word with this young rider and make sure he treated Risa right. Duke scanned the big, crowded space and spotted Caleb sitting at the bar. He made his way through the throng of people out for a good time and pushed his way in between Caleb and a happy couple that needed to take their fun to a private room. “Where is she?” Duke leaned his back against the bar and tracked the hall in a deliberate fashion, one grid of area at a time. “I don’t see her with that kid who asked her out for a drink.” Caleb slid an assessing, knowing gaze Duke’s way. “Hello to you, too,” he murmured, his lips hidden behind his beer. “I’m fine.” “Sorry.” Duke would have kicked himself in the ass if he could. Every time he got in the same room with Risa he gave a little more of himself away. “I heard that young guy ask her out, and I feel an obligation to check on her to make sure he’s treating her right. For Luke and her mother’s sake, and even for Ren.” “Wow.” Caleb raised a brow. “My bulls don’t even crap piles of shit that big. Be careful you don’t get stuck in it, Sheriff.” Caleb swiveled on his barstool and focused in on the far end of the dance floor. “There she is.” He pointed, and Duke followed his finger. The music changed to a slow number and everyone dancing paired up close. “Ahh, I believe Jake has snagged her for another two-step.” “Jake?” Duke’s heart arrested as he found Risa among the couples. Even in jeans, a long-sleeve white shirt, and her hair pulled back in a simple ponytail, her beauty had no comparison in the room. Risa tilted her head back and laughed at whatever Jake said. Her arm settled around

his shoulders as they swayed to the music, and blood boiled hot in Duke’s veins. “What in the hell is she doing dancing with him?” Duke snapped. Christ, he hadn’t forced himself to walk away so she could take up with a guy so damn close to his own age. “She is supposed to be on a date with a younger guy.” Duke sorted through his memory of his brief introduction to Jake Chase. “Isn’t this Jake guy married? Where in the hell is his wife?” “Deceased,” Caleb answered with a pointed look that shamed Duke. “Besides, they’re just dancing.” Caleb took another swig of his beer, his eyes following Duke’s to the couple on the floor. “Maybe.” Duke barely heard Caleb's voice over the music and chatter. “For now.” “Shit.” Duke pushed off the bar. “Excuse me. I’ve got something I need to do.” “Good luck.” Caleb spun back around and faced the bar. Duke could swear he heard the man chuckling as he sipped his beer. Great, nothing had even happened and he already had people judging and laughing at him. Exactly what Duke had figured when he first became attracted to Risa. He could just hear the whispers already. That he was an old man chasing a woman young enough to be his daughter. And that it was pathetic that he couldn’t see that he was past his prime, and just leave Risa alone. Duke knew he should do just that. Walk away. He put one booted foot in front of the other and made a beeline for Risa and Jake. “Excuse me,” he said when he reached their side. Risa started when she heard his voice, her green eyes flicking up to him. Her attention, even so simply like this, stroked Duke deep inside, like the most loving caress. He cleared his throat and threw a brief glance at Jake. “Mind if I cut in?” Jake looked to Risa, and Duke’s grudging respect for the man went up a notch. “Is that okay with you?” Jake asked. Risa nodded, her gaze switching warily to Duke as Jake let go of her and stepped away. Duke slid right into Jake’s place. Risa stiffened under his hand for just a moment and then relaxed into his lead. She rested her cheek against his shoulder as he moved them slowly, shuffling really, nothing anyone would exactly call dancing. Duke hadn’t danced with a woman he wanted in close to twenty years, and he’d forgotten how to do much of anything except appreciate how damn right this particular woman felt in his arms. He rubbed his fingers along the small of her back and dipped down to smell her honeyscented hair. Risa pulled away from his shoulder and laid a direct gaze on him. “I didn’t expect to see you here tonight,” she said, her tone short. “I thought you’d hightailed it back to Quinten before I even got on the back of my final bull.” “And I thought to find you here dancing with that young guy who asked you out after your final ride. What in the hell happened to him?” Risa’s eyes widened to big, green saucers. “You watched me ride?” “Answer my question first,” Duke countered. Christ, he couldn’t think about what had come on the heels of that final ride of hers yet. “Where’s the other guy?” Risa’s gaze darkened to the colors of a forest on a stormy night. “It wasn’t a date. He invited me for a round of drinks with the other guys on the tour, you jackass.” She punched his shoulder. “You hurt me tonight when you disappeared from the crowd at the rodeo. I looked for you after my ride.” “I tried to get to you,” Duke admitted, his voice gruff with unchecked emotion. “I

saw that bull coming for you, hitting your back more than once, and my heart stopped beating. All I could think to do was get to you. You had already jumped over the railing, accepting your congratulations from the crowd by the time I got to you. Your fellow rider gave his high-five too.” Risa reached up and cupped Duke’s cheek, her eyes full of her open, generous heart. Duke’s knees almost buckled right then and there. “Why didn’t you come to me?” she asked. Her thumb brushed over his lips, and Duke reached close to heaven with just that small touch. “I wanted your hug and highfive more than anyone else’s in that building.” Duke reached deep for that one last attempt at nobility. “I heard that guy invite you out and thought it best if I got out of your way and let someone closer to your age, with similar interests, maybe catch your eye.” “God, Duke”—Risa shook her head…”you have such old-fashioned ideas about what kinds of people should be together.” Duke stiffened, stopping their modified dance as heat flared in his belly. “Well, I apologize if you find that objectionable, but I am an old-fashioned guy.” Risa slid her hand down Duke’s stomach and around his waist. She leaned in close and whispered near his ear, “So try something new.” She pressed a kiss high on his cheek. “Let go, for once”—she flicked the tip of her tongue across his skin, and his cock responded as if she’d grazed his slit…”and let something you want happen naturally.” The answering tug of desire for this woman spread as infectiously from Duke’s heart as it did from his dick. He groaned as he fell a little bit more, knowing that this could only lead to heartache and trouble. He tilted her face up to his anyway, for once not hiding even a speck of emotion toiling within him for this one complex, fascinating woman. “We need to get out of here”—his voice resonated gruff and thick to his own ears…”before I get very, very hard, and it becomes obvious to everyone in this place exactly what I want.” Risa took his hand and led him out of the bar.

Chapter Nine Risa stood at the foot of the bed, her heart hammering under her shirt. Duke leaned against her motel room door, the same place he had plastered himself the minute they walked into her room. His eyes darkened with lust, but he did not move. Risa took note of his fingers wrapped hard around the doorknob, as well as the bulge in his jeans. He wanted her, and he certainly could no longer deny it. But his hand gripping that doorknob, God, that bit cracked a little piece of Risa’s soul. She lifted her fingers to the buttons on her shirt, and tied her gaze to his. “If we’re going to do this, one of us has to make the first move.” Her hands trembled only the slightest bit as she worked her shirt open one snap at a time. “I guess that’s gonna be me.” She got to the last closure and pulled the tails out of her jeans. “Jesus, lady.” Duke’s voice scraped through the quiet of the room, his focus on the slender line of skin she revealed. “You don’t know the words ‘fear’ and ‘caution’ at all, do you.” “I do.” She couldn’t lie; she never would with this man. “But I’ve learned that both can be overcome if you want something badly enough.” She slipped her shirt off her shoulders and let it fall to the floor. Duke gasped, the sound ricocheting loudly throughout the small room. Risa’s gaze jumped to his and then traveled to where he stared. “Oh, yeah.” She fingered the big, angry bruise that circled around the side of her waist and went down into the waistband of her jeans. She belatedly recalled the gauze wrapped tightly around her right wrist, something there so often she tended not to notice it most of the time. Her face heated as she lifted it back to Duke. “The Kevlar vest is there to displace the impact of the bull’s hooves should they come down on you, but bruising from bumps and falls still get through.” She rubbed the slope of her pale shoulder, redness building to purple there too. “A bruised up body is part of my work.” She thought about the wrecked shape of her legs, and probably her butt, as well. A rush of inadequacy washed over Risa, something she had never experienced as an adult. Her legs turned to mush and she quickly dropped to the edge of the bed. “I didn’t ever think what I would look like to you once I took off all of my clothes. I just always imagined us making love, and that would be enough to exci…” Duke growled and slid in between her legs. He wrapped his big, warm hand around her neck and tilted her chin up with his thumb. His eyes glittered, and her stomach fluttered. “Everything about you makes me dizzy without even trying,” he shared, his voice gruff. “I just didn’t prepare myself to see you so beat up, and I don’t want to hurt you any…” She covered his mouth with her hand. “You could never hurt me. I’m made of tougher stuff than that. I’ve spent the last year sore from riding bulls.” Her blush crept up from her chest all the way to her cheeks. “I want to feel sore tomorrow because of what we do tonight.” Duke groaned and shot to his feet. “Take the rest of your clothes off, baby. Let your hair down too.” He went for the buttons on his own shirt, his eyes hot as they followed

her hands to her belt. “I need to start steeling myself against your sweet little body right this minute.” Risa followed the line of Duke’s tall, muscular frame as his shirt hit the floor, revealing a wide, lightly furred chest. She swallowed thickly as the first set of butterflies took flight in her stomach. “You’re about the only one who can honestly call me little.” Aside from her above average height, she had hard muscle covering her from stem to stern. She lived with herself every day, so it didn’t bother her, but she hadn’t thought about how many men would find her physical strength sexually attractive. She worked off her boots and socks and shimmied her jeans down her legs. Cool air brushed her skin, raising goose bumps along her flesh. At least, she told herself the chill in the air caused it, and not a sudden case of nerves. Pushing back on the bed, she folded her elbows under her arms. “I think you might be one of only a very few men who won’t be intimidated by my size and power.” Duke’s eyes flashed bright in the shadows. “I’d better damn well be the only one you test that theory out on.” Big, brown boots, white socks, and jeans joined Risa’s rumpled clothes on the floor. He stood tall, tan, and stunning before her. She didn’t think tightiewhities had ever looked as sexy on a man as they did on Duke Boone. “I don’t share what’s mine.” He slid his knee between her legs and came down on top of her, his weight pressing her into the mattress. “With anyone,” he added, and took her mouth in a kiss. Risa sighed against Duke’s lips and his tongue slipped inside, grazing along the tip of hers. Her toes curled into the mattress and she bumped her hips up into him immediately, her body quickly succumbing to the need for a complete touch. Duke jerked between her legs and then ground his ridge into the V of her thighs, sliding delicious friction over her plump folds. Risa’s pussy contracted, aching already, crying to grant entry to its natural mate. Her body opened to this man so naturally, even through the thin barrier of their undergarments. She shivered, exposure and vulnerability hitting her in a new, deeper way. “What?” Duke pulled away, his eyes full of concern. He touched the tips of his callused fingers over her cheeks and nose, the soft touch drawing forth another tremor from her. “What’s the matter? Are you okay?” “I want this so much,” Risa admitted. Her insides burned hot right under her skin, bringing forth the sensation of suffering a fever. She looked up at him, meeting his gaze. “But I want you to want it just as much as I do.” Duke groaned. His eyes slid closed and he dropped his forehead to hers. “I know you can feel how much I desire you.” He reached down and pushed her panties out of the way. “Help me.” Her hands tangled with his and they got his underwear down to his hips. His cock sprang free and jutted hot against Risa’s pulsing sex. She jumped against him, her attention darting up to his face. Raw, desperate need shone openly in his eyes. “I can’t give you foreplay this time.” He slid his hand between their bodies and guided his thick, rigid penis to her entrance. “Tell me you’re ready, and it’s okay.” She knew what he asked. From the moment he had taken her in his arms at The Stockyard, her body had started preparing itself to accept him. Risa drew her legs up and cradled his hips. “I’ve been ready for you forever.” She lifted up, he sank down, and Duke claimed Risa’s body for the very first time.

Duke shuddered above her, and Risa gasped as her channel stretched to accommodate his thick invasion. She grabbed his wide, sinewy shoulders and held on as her pussy fluttered around his buried length, sending frissons of new, strange feelings of fullness to her brain. She had only known a finger or two inside her before this. The sensation a Pocket Rocket pulled out of her didn’t feel like this either. This was Duke—a part of his body—a piece of him—inside her. Awareness of the magnitude of that, of him doing this with her, flooded Risa physically and emotionally. Her chest constricted painfully and a tear leaked out of the corner of her eye. Duke cupped her head in his big hands and drew her face up to his. His thumb brushed across the line of wetness, wiping it away. “Jesus, are you all right?” He grimaced as her channel relaxed around him and he slipped deeper inside. “Goddamn it, you are so fucking tight.” His fingers dug into her scalp and he started to move. “I’ll go straight to hell for hurting you, but I can’t hold back.” “Doesn’t hurt.” Risa could barely think, let alone talk through the tumult of new, layered pleasure working its way from her stretched, claimed pussy to every nerve ending in her body. “No pain.” She had ridden too many horses and bulls over the course of her life to have a “maidenhead” to worry about breaking. She pulled Duke’s mouth down to hers and touched their lips together. “It’s so…” Duke reached between their bodies and unfastened her bra. He pushed the fabric aside and rubbed his chest against hers. His soft hair abraded her nipples, pebbling them to aching points. She finished, gasping, “…so… Oh God, Duke, so, so good.” “Christ, you’re fucking incredible.” Duke pulled all the way out and sank back in deep. They both moaned, their voices mingling in the darkened room. “No other woman has ever turned me on the way you do.” Risa slid her hands around Duke’s taut waist and cupped his flexing buttocks, loving every movement of his big, hard body on top of hers. “I’ve never wanted any other man in my life.” She opened her heart and her body equally, unwilling to hide any part of herself from this man. She never had. “Just you, Duke. Only you.” Duke groaned, the sound hoarse. He fused his mouth to hers, devouring her with his lips, teeth, and tongue. Risa met him kiss for kiss as he pounded her body below, any sense of control or style completely gone. The friction between Risa’s legs grew unbearably hot and she thought for sure at any minute she would combust and burn the bed up in flames. She squeezed Duke’s tight ass in her fingers, holding him deep within her, her mind frantic and uncertain about what to do. “Help me,” she agonized, her voice raw and open against his mouth as her nerves wound tighter and tighter inside her aching, needy cunt. “Please, help me come before you kill me.” Duke grabbed her hair and held her head to the pillow, his eyes glittering overly bright. He delved his other hand between their sweat-slick torsos and pushed down past her belly into her mound of curls. “Don’t look away,” he ordered, his voice harsh. He reached deeper, flicked her protruding clit, once, twice, and Risa’s strung-tight nerves snapped. She convulsed, her entire body shaking, almost frightening in its intensity as her pussy clenched repeatedly, fisting Duke’s cock, dragging it deeper inside as she came. She never once broke away from his eyes. She saw it when it happened for him too. One second his focus probed right into her, and in the next, the skin over his face pulled taut, turning his gaze wild. He surged his penis up and deep one last time, and stilled

completely. His eyes squeezed shut as he shuddered, filling her up with wet, intimate heat as he came, emptying himself so deep inside her body it touched her very soul. * “Jesus Christ.” Duke pulled out and dropped to the bed next to Risa, his heart racing belated panic to his core. He wiped his face and blinked up at the ugly, popcorn ceiling of the cheap motel room where he had just fucked Risa Forrester without any calm or cool at all. His rational brain had not functioned from the minute he’d set foot in that damn bar and saw her dancing with another man. “I didn’t use a condom.” He could not even look at her, his painfully inadequate performance still rushing shame to his face. “Tell me it’s okay.” “It’s fine.” Risa’s voice sounded strangely thick and husky to Duke’s ears. “Even if it weren’t, I wouldn’t use it as a means to trap you into anything you didn’t want. That’s not me, and you know it.” She rolled away from him, but not fast enough. He heard a sniffle and saw a shiver roll through her strong shoulders and down the line of her bruised back. “Damn it, honey.” Duke’s voice caught in his throat, and he had to stop. Christ, if he didn’t know what she did for a living he would have thought her a victim of domestic abuse. He reached out and rubbed his palm down the line of her toned, muscled back. She stiffened beneath his touch, and his hand curled into a fist to stop himself from caressing her ass. She obviously couldn’t tolerate his presence right now. “Don’t cry.” Taking his hand away, he untwisted his underwear, pulled them up, and threw his legs over the side of the bed. “I wish I could have made this a better experience for you, but I didn’t know how to go slow. You need someone with better recovery time and someone who won’t lose control. I think it would be best if I go.” In the blink of an eye, Risa blindsided him and threw him back down on the bed, knocking the wind right out of him. She crawled on top of him, straddled his waist, and pinned his arms to the bed. Her eyes blazed green fire, any hint of tears gone. Duke struggled against her hold, but she fought back and held him down, her strength undeniable. Her arms bulged with sleek muscles and her bare breasts swayed with her efforts, arousing Duke’s senses again quickly, if not yet his recently sated body. “Why do you have to act like such a jerk, Duke?” she asked, the question practically a snarl. “We had a perfect moment, everything I ever wanted for my first time with you.” She let go of one of his hands and swiped a tumble of glorious, gently wavy hair out of her eyes and back behind her ear. She let her fingers settle against his chest, playing absently with his nipples, inadvertently driving him mad. “Then you have to ruin it by cursing at the Lord and implying you might get leg-shackled to me for screwing me without protection.” Duke’s heart squeezed tight, something he hadn’t felt in relation to a woman for a very long time. “I wasn’t cursing you, or God,” he shared. He covered her hand, stopping her teasing fingers. He couldn’t get it up again for a good couple of hours, and it would torture him if he let her rev him up without a way to release. “I berated only myself. I didn’t think this through and I couldn’t be gentle.” “Does anything about me strike you as needing coddling or the kid glove treatment?” “It was your first time, honey.” Damn, Duke still couldn’t let himself accept what that gift meant. “You deserved better than three minutes in a cheap motel room with a guy who should know better than assuming we’re both protected and safe.”

“You know I don’t have diseases.” Her face reddened as she added, “And I put myself on the pill quite a while ago.” Duke raised a dark brow. “You deserved a chance to ask me about safety for yourself too, before I shoved my dick inside you and started to thrust.” Her eyes softened as she looked down on him. She suddenly let go of his other hand and brushed her fingers over his hard face, as if mapping a picture for her mind. “You would never put me at risk,” she said, her gentle, loving heart reaching into him through her voice, look, and touch. Duke’s stomach skittered with something other than dread. He recognized the fear, but refused to examine the other dangerous emotions toiling there as well. Feelings he could never let free. “I didn’t know you couldn’t get pregnant when I took you,” he pointed out. “I couldn’t think or stop to ask you about that.” “You knew.” She stretched out on top of him and pressed her lips to his. “Somehow.” She wiggled in between his legs, teasing him mercilessly, until like a contented cat, she found her spot and settled down. She dipped her tongue through the seam of his lips, licked, and darted back. Her mesmerizing, sparkling eyes found his in the darkness and held. “You knew.” He hadn’t known. What scared Duke more than anything else, though, was that he hadn’t cared.

Chapter Ten Duke stirred, readily coming out of a light sleep. His internal clock and senses did not allow him to sleep deeply or comfortably in a bed other than his own, so he’d spent the night eyeing the time from over Risa’s shoulder every hour or so, stealing moments in her presence while she slept unaware. Christ, he had succumbed to her like a boy who had never had a girlfriend, let alone a marriage, divorce, and a small number of discreet liaisons. Once he had taken that first taste of Risa back in his office, though, and experienced the reality of his fevered dreams, Duke could no longer pretend anyone had ever offered him a greater gift than kissing this young woman. Her enthusiasm, combined with her innocence and trust, rushed through Duke’s veins like backwoods moonshine. The feel of her warm, naked body curled in front of him stirred Duke’s cock to life against the sweet curve of her bare ass. It felt like forever since he’d held a woman for any length of time in bed. He had forgotten how right it could feel to share a space with another person for more than a few hours—how dangerous it could feel too. Pictures of Risa that Duke had no business seeing filled his mind; images of her in his home, his bed, round with his ch… No. Too old and set in his ways, he could not allow even the thought of marriage and family to enter his mind. “Mmm,” Risa’s voice rumbled back to Duke in the darkness, still heavy with sleep. “What time is it?” “Early.” Duke tucked her tight to him with an arm around her waist. He couldn’t help it. He didn’t want to let go yet. “It’s three in the morning. Go back to sleep.” Risa reached back and slid her hand down his thigh, her barely-there nails scratching over his flesh. She dug into his haunch, and Duke groaned, his dick fully recovered and ready to go again. “Yeah, that’s what I thought I felt.” Laughter laced Risa’s voice. She circled back against Duke, and the length of his penis slipped into her crease. He clenched his jaw and tried his damnedest not to grind his erection into her ass. “You’re hard again.” “Are you surprised?” He pushed a leg between her thighs and stilled her hot little gyrations. She covered his hand on her belly and slid it up to her breast. “No,” she said, her voice catching high and tight. “Especially since I know what’s going on inside me.” She bore down and rocked over the top of his thigh, leaving the smear of her juices in her wake. His prick reared and searched for her opening, eager to mate with its counterpoint again. Duke hissed with pleasure against her ear. “You keep making sweet little moves like that and you’re going to start wondering if foreplay is a myth.” He squeezed the lush fullness of her breast and teased the hard tip between the lines of his fingers. Christ, she had amazing breasts, but she made him so hot so fast she rendered him incapable of doing anything but sliding inside her tight heat and rutting away until he came. “I can’t go more than a couple times a night anymore, honey.” He nipped the tender skin between her neck and shoulder, tugging playfully. “You might give me a chance to slow down and make it a little more worth your while.”

“Next time.” Risa whimpered and wiggled against his leg, and Duke suddenly understood that she needed him to take her just as badly as he wanted to do it. “Right now, I’ve wanted you for so long I don’t need much to make me come.” She tried to roll over, but he guided her onto her stomach instead, pressing her into the bed with his weight. She stiffened as he spread her legs and fit himself between her thighs. “Shh, shh, it’s okay.” He brushed her hair back from her face and laid his cheek down on hers. “It’s not what you think.” He reached between them and separated her moist folds. “I’m not taking your ass. I just want you like this.” He nudged her swollen entrance with the head of his cock. She melted around him, and he squeezed his eyes shut as he sank inside. She moaned deep in her throat, the sound reverberating through her and into him. Her hand slid down the mattress and tangled with his, clutching him with incredible strength. She rolled her hips and bucked her ass up against him, but he forced her into the bed and took control of the pace. He dragged his stiff, sensitive length out of her snug channel. Inch, by agonizing inch, he pushed his way back in. “Relax, baby.” He started a slow, undulating flex and release between the connection of their bodies. “You don’t have to perform for me. Just let go and let yourself feel.” She curled his hand under her body and tucked it between her breasts. “I love how you feel inside me.” Her sex clenched around him, sucking his cock deep inside, until his tip kissed her core. “I loved waking up in your arms.” “Christ, Ris.” Duke slipped under the tide once again, powerless against the deep, elemental, emotions she wrenched out of him without even trying. Steady and controlled flew out the door as her words reached in and touched his soul. “You won’t even leave me my dignity, will you.” He pulled his hand away from between her breasts, levered up on his elbows, and started to thrust without finesse, the bed squeaking, the headboard hitting the wall with each delve of his pole through her milking cunt. “That makes us even then.” Risa braced her hands against the headboard, grunting as she took each and every vigorous pump. “I can’t hide what I feel every time I look at you. You know my heart, Duke.” She curled her feet over his calves and latched on tight. “You always have.” “I know,” he revealed. “I know.” “Fuck me harder.” She pushed back against him with all of her strength. “Show me what you feel.” He roved hard and fast, his need to posses Risa pushing him well past anything he had ever learned about control. His cock screamed within her snug embrace, selfish and demanding of more. He grabbed her hips and pulled her up to her knees, his focus sliding down and latching onto his length disappearing through the pink, shiny lips of her pussy. He groaned at the hot, base sight, and ground in deeper, desperate to make her feel every inch of his possession. “Oh God, Duke, Duke…” Her hands knotted and pushed against the wood, her eyes shut tight as she gritted her teeth and took his rough mating. “So fast.” She shoved her hand between her legs as panic inched into her voice. “Gonna come again … too fast.” “For me too, baby.” He delved his hand down her belly and covered her buried fingers with his. She teased her clit as she bucked back against him, and for Duke, feeling her touch herself set him on fire. He held her fingers in place and surged deep, rocking her off her knees each time he plunged inside her again. “I can’t control it either. Come

for me.” He manipulated her fingers with his, forcing her to take that final, deliberate touch. “Come for me now.” Her head and shoulders dropped to the bed as she worked her fingers almost maniacally over her swollen clit, each touch bumping her ass and cunt into his body. She turned her head on the pillow, her cheek pressed hard into the fabric. She panted heavily as she looked back at him, hazy lust turning her eyes glittery bright. “You come for me too.” Her voice registered high, barely audible through her passion. Her gaze latched onto his, open and guileless. “Please. Oh, oh…” Her entire body seized to a halt and her eyes grew wide as she began to shake with release. Her pussy contracted tightly, squeezing his cock with ridiculous wet heat, and that ended it for Duke. He fell onto Risa’s glistening back and shoved her into the mattress with all of his weight. The vibration of her orgasm spread through her entire body as she cried out and came, and Duke had himself plastered so damn close to her it grabbed at him too. Her response dragged him under, and the valve to his scrotum opened, spewing forth a flood of cum, the heat of it scorching his insides as it raced to his rock-hard, overly sensitive penis. Duke shook with unchecked emotion, filling her with himself in place of words he no longer knew how to share. Long minutes later Risa shivered beneath him, and Duke planted his hands on the bed to move. “No.” She reached back and grabbed his hips, holding him down on her. “Don’t move. Please. I like the way you feel resting inside me.” Duke settled, pushing caution and common sense away. “I can’t stay forever.” He tangled his fingers through hers and burrowed them under the pillow on either side of her head. “I have to head back to Quinten early for work.” “Just for a little while.” She sighed and closed her eyes, a sexy purr trilling from somewhere deep inside. “That’s all I ask.” Duke fought his conscience that said this was wrong and a disaster waiting to happen, and stayed. **** Risa stretched and rolled over, groaning as the swollen area between her legs uncomfortably reminded her of what she had done the previous night. Duke. She’d had sex with Duke. She sat upright in a shot. The sheet covering her breasts slid down, pooling scratchily against her bare thighs. She pulled it up and tucked it under her arms as she glanced around the shadowed, silent room. The room where now only she remained. Damn. Pain and disappointment sliced through Risa’s chest, cutting her deeply. She knew better than to expect Duke to embrace her today, but the swelling hurt in her heart told her that she had ignored logic and leapt with open arms, clearly expecting him to catch her. In her head, she had known he would be a tougher nut to crack than that. She found it much tougher to control her heart. All along the way, from the moment Nate had died really, Risa had begun sensing that Duke possessed feelings similar to hers. At the same time, she understood how deeply he did not believe it right to get mixed up in an affair with her. Desire had overridden his hesitation and allowed him to take her last night, but she couldn’t really

expect that meant he now viewed them as a couple. He had deeply ingrained views of right and wrong, and one night of rushed, frantic sex wouldn’t change them. Those challenges didn’t even take into account the hang-ups he harbored from his previous relationships, ones that pushed him far beyond normal uncertainty. It would take some work to bring Duke around to her way of thinking, she knew that. Risa had never been afraid of hard work. New determination replacing her momentary dejection, Risa swung her legs out of bed and jumped to her feet. She dropped to her knees in front of her duffel bag, and her heart stilled. Tucked in at the edge of the zipper, a rolled piece of paper poked out of the opening. Risa moved to grab it, but pulled her hand back. Chastising the fear she’d never let overtake her before, she removed the scrolled notebook paper with shaky hands, flattened it, and started to read. Had to go through your bag. Sorry. Damned cheap motel doesn’t even provide a pad of paper to write a note. Had to go, work won’t wait. You looked so peaceful, I didn’t want to wake you up. I can duck out at seven for a while. I’ll pick you up at Nate’s. We’ll have dinner.—Duke. Risa’s heart raced and her belly fluttered with longing she no longer had to hide. She pressed the note to her breast, and it felt as if Duke’s words penetrated her skin and sank into her blood. A date with Duke. Tonight. Risa threw back her head and laughed. Duke hadn’t run. He did want a relationship with her. Smiling, for the first time in her life, Risa embraced being wrong. She folded the note, tucked it in her bag, and beamed the entire way through her and Caleb’s meeting with a potential new sponsor for her riding, and then the entire way home to Quinten. Risa couldn’t help it. She loved Duke Boone and knew it would never go away.

Chapter Eleven Risa swept the stockroom floor, needing to keep her hands occupied while she waited for Duke. She knew he would show. He would never ask her on a date and then cruelly stand her up. At the same time, it had gone a quarter past seven and he had yet to call or walk through Nate’s front door. She chewed on her lip as nerves and her vivid imagination got the better of her. “Why don’t you let me do that?” Leigh’s soft, feminine voice broke through the silence, making Risa jump a foot off the floor. She grabbed at her chest and spun around, finding the woman at the stockroom door. “Good God.” Risa gulped a few deep breaths and tried to slow the racing of her heart. “I was a million miles away. You scared me to death.” “Let me do that.” Leigh held out her hand for the broom. “You look so pretty. I don’t want you to get dust and dirt all over your dress.” Risa leaned on the broom handle and softly, almost tentatively, fingered the forest green wrap dress she wore. Duke had not said she should get dressed up, but she so rarely got the opportunity to go out in something other than jeans that when looking in her closet she couldn’t pass up the chance to wear the one dress in her wardrobe. She’d had two, but she had worn the other one to Nate’s funeral and so had gotten rid of it. She knew she would never be able to wear it again without the terrible sadness of that day taking over her thoughts. A dull ache at the loss of Nate crept into Risa’s bones, chilling her. She determinedly shook it off, knowing that Nate would want her to reach for this chance at happiness with Duke. “I’m fine,” Risa finally said. Nevertheless, she rubbed her arms through her sleeves, feeling the goose bumps that proved her statement a lie. “Actually, I’m starting to get a little concerned.” She tilted her head and met Leigh’s motherly gaze. “Did I get any calls today?” “No.” The bell attached to the front door of the store clattered against the glass and Risa almost flew out of her skin. “Never mind.” She grinned, her heart tripping double time against her breast. “He’s here.” She sidled past Leigh and raced into the store, her step in her high-heeled boots almost a skip. “You had me worried that something had happened to… Oh.” Her feet skidded to a halt in front of the cash register. “You’re not Duke.” “Just one letter off.” The door sighed to a close behind her brother. “I kind of like my L, though, I think I’ll keep it. Wow, okay.” Luke took Risa in from top to bottom. “You’re not going to want to join me, Cain, Connor and Cassie for dinner at the diner looking like that.” “No.” Risa ran her fingers over the countertop, digging her little nails into the scuffed-up surface. “I have plans.” “I figured.” Luke rubbed his hand around the back of his neck and moved closer to Risa. “Look, sis, I wanted to talk to you about that. I don’t know about…” If Luke said a word after that, Risa didn’t hear him. The bell banged against the door again and Duke stepped inside. Risa flew to him, throwing herself into his arms. He

grunted, but caught her and held her to his chest. “You had me a little bit concerned.” She slid her arms around his neck and squeezed. “You were late, and I know you would never do that, so I thought something must have happened.” “I know, and I apologize.” Duke rubbed his palm into the small of Risa’s back, sending a shiver down her tailbone. “We’re working on something to flush out our local thief, and I figured it would be easier to finish up rather than make everyone take a break and call you.” Duke’s entire body suddenly stiffened against Risa. “Luke.” His voice sounded rough to Risa’s ears. Slowly, he lowered her to the floor. Risa’s cheeks filled with heat. “I’m sorry, I didn’t think.” She took a step back and met Duke’s shuttered stare. “I shouldn’t have just jumped on you like that. I don’t have any right.” Duke’s gaze softened, opening up to her a little bit. “It’s okay.” He took her hand in his and linked their fingers. “I don’t have any intentions of hiding.” Risa did, however, feel tension radiate down Duke’s arm and seep into her hand as they approached Luke. “Evening, Luke.” Duke let go of Risa and stretched out his hand. “How are you?” “Fine.” Luke shook Duke’s hand, brief and hard. “Just fine.” His gaze slid to Risa. “So, I’ll take your apologies to everyone and we’ll set something up for another time, okay?” Risa offered her cheek for her brother’s familiar peck. “Of course.” She squeezed his arm. “I’ll call you tomorrow. See you.” “Have a good night.” Luke rounded Risa and Duke to the door. His eyes darkened to storm clouds, holding on Duke for a long moment before nodding his head and letting himself out into the dark night. Duke touched Risa’s shoulder. When she looked up at him, he said, “If you already had plans with your brother we can have dinner another night. I can’t spare a lot of time anyway, I have to get back to work by nine. Maybe you should go after him…” Risa grabbed Duke and shut him up with a kiss. She crushed her lips to his, and he immediately took over, nudging his tongue against her seam. He pushed inside, practically taking over her mouth as he back-walked her into the counter and lifted her on top. She ran her hands down his back and cupped his taut buttocks, tugging him between her spread thighs. He groaned and shoved his cock against her V, releasing a gush of excited wetness into her pussy. Tenderness didn’t matter to Risa, she had wanted Duke for so long she would deal with the slight discomfort until her body adjusted to his regular taking of her. Mindless with desire, Risa wrapped her legs around Duke’s hard waist and squeezed. He growled and grabbed her hips, grinding them together, but seconds later cursed and tore his mouth from hers, planting his hands on the countertop on either side of her thighs. His hot breath caressed her face and his piercing gaze touched deep within her core. “What is it?” She rubbed her thumbs over his reddened cheekbones as she cupped his face. “What’s wrong? Why did you stop?” Duke turned his head and pressed a kiss to her wrist before untangling her legs from around him and deliberately stepping away. “I stopped because I don’t have a lot of time

to spare tonight, and if we kept going we never would have made it to dinner.” “Oh.” Risa smiled as delicious possibilities crossed her mind. “Well, that’s all right. I wouldn’t mind going upstairs rather than out for food.” “And have your brother think I’m using you as a fuck buddy?” Duke’s jaw clenched hard. “I don’t think so. We’re going out to dinner, in public. There will be enough talk as it is, I don’t want to fuel it by making it look like I’m trying to keep you a secret.” “Geez, Duke”—Risa hopped off the counter and pecked a quick kiss to his heated cheek…”that’s arrogant of you to assume. Maybe they’ll think I’m trying to keep you a secret.” She winked, laughing at the ruddiness tingeing his cheeks. “Come on.” She latched onto his hand, so warm and strong against hers, and tugged him to the door. “We can’t have this town thinking I’m just using you for sex. Let’s go eat.” “Wait.” Duke pulled her back to him. He spun her around and openly admired her state of dress. “You look hot as hell in this get-up, but it’s getting damn chilly outside. You might want to grab a coat.” “Oh, right.” She knocked her head with her knuckles. “Duh. Leigh!” she called out. “Can you bring me my jacket?” Duke darkened from rosy to beet red. “Jesus Christ,” he muttered. “We’ve had someone here with us all this time?” At her nod, he added, “What in the hell am I going to do with you?” Leigh came out of the stockroom with Risa’s denim jacket over her arm. Risa grinned mischievously up at Duke. “I don’t think you want me to answer that with an audience.” “Please don’t.” Duke turned, his smile to Leigh tight. “Hi,” he said. “How are you?” “Very well, Sheriff.” Leigh held Risa’s jacket open, and Risa slipped it on. “Ya’ll have a good night. Risa, I’ll take care of everything here and see you tomorrow.” “Thanks, Leigh.” She looked up at Duke. “All right. You ready to go?” “I don’t know about ready.” He took her hand. “But let’s do this anyway.” Risa bit her lip to keep from laughing, and let Duke take the lead on their first official date. **** The hairs on the back of Duke’s neck stood at attention and frissons of awareness tingled down his spine. People stared at them. Openly. He and Risa ate sandwiches and fries at The BBQ Place, nothing fancy, something both of them had done separately a thousand times before. Tonight, though, how they chewed their food and sipped their sodas became the obvious interest of every patron in the joint. Damn it. “So, how about we talk about your ex-wife?” “What?” Duke’s heart seized, his focus shooting up to Risa. “Jesus, Risa.” “Yeah.” She pushed a wave of strawberry hair behind her ear, smiling softly. “I thought that would get your attention.” Duke lowered his voice. “What in the hell do you mean by saying that?” Risa leaned in and fake whispered, “I mean, if the only thing that’s going to pull your attention away from our fellow diners is questioning you about something I know

you don’t want to talk about this early in our…” “Not ever, honey,” Duke interrupted, his voice cutting like a whip. His history was just that. History. And, his. Duke’s marriage had ended fourteen years ago. Adopting Ren and gaining the best kid in the world—now a wonderful man himself—remained the one good thing he embraced from that turbulent time in his life. His ex had come to Quinten around a year ago and stirred up trouble, wrecking her son’s shaky, vulnerable heart before skipping town. Duke’s heart hardened just thinking about it—and her. “My brief marriage ended a long time ago and doesn’t bear discussion.” “You don’t think every decision you’ve made in regards to women since your divorce is a subconscious choice on your part never to get close to repeating that mistake?” Risa’s gaze penetrated Duke’s, wringing his stomach up in knots. “You can’t seriously think we’re never going to have a discussion about it, can you?” “You can talk about it all you like.” Duke deliberately modulated his voice and flattened his gaze to indifferent. “I won’t ever participate in it with you, though.” “I guess that means you have no right to mention my father in my presence ever again, either.” She drummed her fingers on the tabletop. “Have we just set the ground rules, then? Sex and food are good, but anything that might actually allow us to get to know each other a little better is strictly off limits.” “Baby,”—the smile that quirked Duke’s lips up at the edges became downright wicked…”you’ve just described every man’s perfect relationship.” Risa chuckled and shook her head. “As long as we’re clear.” She wiped her wide, pretty mouth with a napkin and glanced at her watch. “You ready to go? I don’t want the deputies groaning about me making the boss late.” Duke had talked with Risa in very broad, general terms about what had transpired with the theft case since the incident at Nate’s. “We’re going to have enough talk around town without adding to it.” “You finally see that, huh?” Duke pulled out his wallet and left a twenty on the table with the bill. He stood, allowing Risa to proceed in front of him. Putting his hand to the small of her back, he forcibly ignored the darting looks between the other customers in the restaurant. “It’s good that you do.” “I always figured curiosity would be there, Duke.” She reached back and took his hand. Bringing it to her lips, her eyes twinkled as they stepped outside. “The difference is I don’t let it bother me. See”—she turned his hand over and pressed a kiss into the center of his palm…”I happen to think you’re a great man, so it makes me darn proud when people see me in your company.” With considerable willpower, Duke talked down the hard-on that sprung up in his jeans. He was in such big trouble with this amazing, sexy, tenderhearted young woman. He linked their fingers, ignored the damned rightness of it, and led her to his truck. **** “You sure you don’t want me to take you back to the store?” Duke asked. They stood in the cold outside the sheriff’s station. “I barely took you out and now I feel like I’m dumping you off a block away from home.” “I saw Cain and Luke’s truck,” Risa insisted. She tucked her hands into her pockets, burrowing against the stiff breeze. “I think I recognized Connor and Cassie’s SUV too. Maybe they have the baby with them; I’d love to see her. I want to go in the diner and say hi. One of them will give me a ride home.”

“I won’t argue against a woman with a plan.” Duke brushed Risa’s hair out of her face, unearthing long-unused tenderness that squeezed on his chest. “I’ll give you a call soon. All right?” Streetlights caught the brightness in Risa’s pure green gaze. “Or you could come by later on tonight.” The sole of her shiny, sexy black boot scuffed against the sidewalk pavement. “If you want.” Duke’s prick stirred in his jeans. “I don’t know,” he hesitated. The urge to take her had already overridden his good sense twice; the thought of getting sucked in any deeper and losing himself broke perspiration out on his back under his shirt and jacket. “It’ll be late when I’m done with work.” “Think about it.” She smiled, and it sucker-punched his heart. “It’s up to you. Let me get going.” She glanced across the street to the diner, lights shining bright inside, before coming back to him. “I don’t want to miss them.” “Okay.” Duke stayed rooted in place. “I’ll watch from here until you get inside. Have a good night.” Risa shook her head and rolled her eyes. “For God’s sake, Duke. Do I have to make every first move?” She stood tall and defiant in front of him, visible fire licking out of every pore. “Are you gonna give me a kiss goodnight, or not?” He grabbed the lapels of her jacket and pulled her flush against his front, the desire tugging within him too deep to walk away. “I thought you’d never ask.” He nipped her lush, lower lip and then took her mouth in a slow, exploratory kiss. She melted against him, almost into him. He groaned as she softened her lips and let him inside. Christ, he didn’t remember kissing ever arousing him this deeply. She boldly took over the mating and sucked on his tongue. Duke slid his hands down and wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting her right off the ground. She squeezed his shoulders, her fingers digging into his muscles with deft, efficient strength. Her power turned him on like nothing else. He slid his palm down and cupped her ass. A deliberate, loud, fake cough tore Duke and Risa apart. Cade stood some five feet away, redness covering his smooth cheek. “I’m all for romance, you both know that. But maybe you shouldn’t look like you’re two moves away from doing it right in the center of town.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Just a thought.” Risa spoke before Duke could. “I’ll go now.” She backed up to the sidewalk curb. “I enjoyed dinner, Duke.” She bit her swollen lip. “See you soon.” Waving, she spun around and quickly crossed the empty street. Cade moved in and stood next to Duke. “I guess things have changed since the last time we talked.” They both watched Risa slip inside the diner. Duke bit off a curse. “Christ, Cade.” He turned to his deputy and friend. “I don’t know what the hell I’m doing.” “You seemed to know a minute ago.” Cade clapped Duke hard on the back. “At the very least, I’d recommend you keep doing that. She looked damned happy.” Moving to the door, he added, “I’ll see you inside.” Duke stood alone outside the station for long, silent minutes, for only the second time in his life, unclear about his chosen path. He fucking hated the pounding in his chest that having a blurred, unclear future created.

Risa mucked the waters up more than anyone he had ever known.

Chapter Twelve Duke sat at the window of the darkened apartment, the heel of his boot drumming relentlessly against the carpeted floor. On this first night of surveillance for their petty thief, Duke could not calm down. He didn’t make it a practice to lie to himself, so he knew a large part of his inability to settle himself had to do with Risa. Damn it, he could not believe how quickly he had lost it in front of the station, no consideration to their public position. He didn’t understand how someone with so much less life experience than he could be so compelling and fascinating to him, but Christ, she was. Intellectually, he knew he should want a woman who had grown up along the same timeframe as he had, someone he could discuss a shared history of news and lifechanging events that had shaped their youths. Only, Duke had discreetly spent time with women his own age since his divorce, and while he had enjoyed their company, no one had ever stirred him to push through his demons and try a long-term relationship again. Not one had so boldly brought up his ex-wife, challenging his “no history” policy in such a lighthearted, but at the same time, probing way as Risa had over dinner tonight. If Duke pursued this thing with Risa, he had no doubts she would push the subject again. Deep down, he knew she might just be the one woman who could find a way in and turn his scheduled, routine life completely upside down. Duke didn’t want that to happen again. Ever. He shivered as he remembered how quickly, as with Risa, he had fallen to Brenda’s charms and sex appeal. In his head, Duke knew Risa and Brenda had nothing in common, but the panic and resistance they churned in his gut felt identical. He had wanted Brenda so badly he’d willfully blinded himself to their incompatibility, only seeing how they burned up the bedroom—or so he’d thought—and the happy family they would create with little Ren. Signs early on in their relationship should have steered him away, but like with Risa, Brenda proved too tempting to resist… * “Come on, baby,” Brenda pleaded, “I don’t want to go home yet.” She raised her arms and twirled around in a circle, swaying to the heavy beat of the club’s music, so damn loud Duke could feel it pounding through him and paining his ears. “It’s early. The party hasn’t even gotten started.” Duke glanced at the glowing dial on his watch. “Brenda, it’s almost two in the morning.” He pulled her down into the booth beside him. “And we both have to work tomorrow.” “So what?” She leaned into his side and started kissing his neck and ear. “You always make sure we get up on time.” Her hand drifted over his thigh and covered his cock. She whispered in his ear, “And I always make sure you get up when needed.” She rubbed him through his pants and reached in between his legs, squeezing his balls. Duke yelped and stilled her fingers. “Brenda,” he hissed, his eyes dashing furiously around the darkened dance club. “We have two hundred people in here with us. Stop.” “That’s what makes it so exciting.” Brenda took a quick glance around the club too, and then slipped under the table. She put her chin on his crotch and looked up at him, her

pale eyes shining in the darkness. “Now, I’m gonna give you something I know you want.” Working his button open, she unzipped him and freed his cock. She licked across his slit, just where she knew he liked it. “And then you’re gonna give me something I want.” She took his dick in one big, wet swallow, and sucked hard. Duke never stood a chance. The women he’d dated before Brenda hadn’t wanted to go down on him like Brenda did, and consequently he really, really loved getting a blowjob. She knew just how to manipulate his testicles and take him down her throat, something he had never experienced until her. As she took his prick back and forth under the cover of darkness, he gripped the edge of the table hard enough to turn his knuckles white, all the while praying he didn’t make a fool out of himself when he came. She tormented him with her generous mouth and, just when he tensed, right on the edge, she pulled his nuts away from his body and wrapped two fingers around the base of his cock, preventing him from coming. His penis slipped from her lips. She looked up at him and said, “My friends haven’t shown up yet, baby. Can we hang out a little longer?” She let go of him and licked his opening. “Please?” She pressed an open-mouth kiss against his tip. She looked so damn hot on her knees, her eyes so seductive and alluring, Duke let his release fly free. He nodded and erupted on Brenda’s lips right under the table, coating her mouth and chin in his ejaculate as he came, his hips pumping fiercely and his jaw clenching tight, unable to hold back his orgasm in public any more than he could in private. Six months of dating this woman and he’d already had more sex and play like this than he had in his entire eight years of sexual experience before he met her. Finally spent, Duke silently handed her a handful of napkins, too shaken and speechless to do anything else. She wiped her face clean, dried off his cock, and put him back in his pants. She came out from under the table as if nothing had ever happened and snuggled against his side, a sweetheart once again. “Oh!” She suddenly sat upright and pointed across the massive club. “My friends finally showed up.” She popped up out of the booth as quickly as she’d sat down with him. “Thanks for agreeing to stay.” She smacked a small kiss on his lips. “I’ll be right back.” Duke stayed seated, too confused to process this whirlwind of a woman who had so quickly stolen his heart. He hated clubs and wanted to go home, but he wanted Brenda Bennett more. He wanted to see her happy, and to show her that he could be the man of her dreams. No matter what it took. **** “Boss.” Max Stuart’s feminine voice snapped Duke out of his wandering thoughts. He looked across the span of the shadowed window and saw his deputy watching the street below. “I can handle this from here on out. You look tired. Why don’t you head home for the night?” Duke had taken the watch from ten to two, allowing Max to sleep. She had woken herself up right on time a half hour ago, obviously fully alert and ready to take over the job. Thank God they’d overlapped for a half hour, as he clearly could no longer focus enough to hold up his half of the job. “Sure you don’t want company?” Duke asked. He knew this would be Max’s first

solo stakeout. “It can get damn boring staring out a window for four hours with no one to talk to.” “You did it,” Max challenged. She looked at him straight on, and nothing about her showed fear. “I can, too. Give me a chance to prove it. You won’t be sorry.” “Not worried about that.” Duke shifted forward in the desk chair and collected his trash into a plastic bag. “You’re almost my most serious and determined deputy.” He got to his feet and stretched his stiff shoulders and arms. Smiling at the dark-haired, darkeyed woman, he forced himself away from the hated memories of his former life. “Cade still has you beat by just a hair, but he really can’t help it. That serious, sober look is etched deeply into every line on his face.” “Not all the time.” Max leaned a shoulder against the wall and watched the outside. “There is one person who knows how to lighten him up.” Duke chuckled. “Right.” He sometimes still couldn’t believe he had a full-grown son in a serious, committed relationship. “Ren does seem to know the secret. Okay, if you’re sure you’ll be all right, I think I’ll go.” “I’ll call you if I need something… Oh, hey…” Max’s entire stance stiffened poker straight, and Duke moved to the other side of the window. “Son of a bitch,” she whispered. “You think our guy would try to steal a car?” Duke scanned the street, his gaze stopping on a kid in jeans and a dark parka who couldn’t yet be twenty. The teen darted his focus around the empty street and then slid a crowbar out from under his coat. “Shit.” Duke tore for the door, all business once again. Frustration welled up from his core. “I doubt it’s him, but I can’t let it go.” He pulled open the door. “Watch him. Yell if he runs.” Duke flew down the darkened stairwell three steps at a time. Hitting the ground floor running, he didn’t skip a beat. He pushed through the front entrance with the heels of his hands, his feet sure as he turned quickly and started in the direction of the perp. He crossed the empty street, inadequate lighting leaving great gaps of road and sidewalk in deep shadows. Duke came two cars up on the kid just as his efforts to pop the lock on the driver’s side door shattered the window. “Drop your weapon.” Duke spoke in a loud, clear voice. “You’re under arrest.” Startled, the kid whipped his head up in the direction of Duke’s voice. “I’m the sheriff.” Duke held up his badge as he approached. “Drop the crowbar and put your hands in the air. Don’t make me tell you again.” The crowbar fell automatically, the metal clanking loudly against the cement before dropping off the stoop to land under the car. Duke saw a flash of intention in the young man’s quickly shifting eyes. “Don’t do it.” The teen spun and took off at a dead run. “Damn it.” Duke shot into motion, hot on the boy’s heels. “I’m getting too old for this shit. Stop! Stop right now!” The kid didn’t even pause. Duke ate up the pavement behind the kid, his boots jarring hard against the ground, straining the joints in his knees. He would damn well feel the chase tomorrow. The kid had youth and speed on his side, but Duke’s long legs ate up the ground almost twice as quickly. Within six house lengths Duke stretched out and almost grabbed the young man.

Adrenaline spurred him that final step and Duke launched himself forward, tackling the perp from behind. The teen struggled and swore up a storm, but Duke had him subdued with his hands cuffed behind his back in quick order. He lifted the teen to his feet and started walking him in the direction of Max’s building. Deputy Stuart already stood on the sidewalk in front of her apartment, cell phone attached to her ear. “A car is on its way to pick him up right now.” She flipped the phone closed and slid it into her pocket. “Not too smart,” she lectured as she took possession of the kid, “trying to steal a car from right outside a deputy’s home.” “I wasn’t doing nothing.” The kid’s face turned sullen and mulish. “Just going for a walk.” Duke shook his head. “With a crowbar.” Christ, the pressure behind his left eyebrow said he would have a full-on headache within the hour. “Right.” He turned to Max. “Keep an eye on him until the squad car shows. I’ll get some gloves out of my vehicle and bag that weapon before someone touches it. He broke a window. We need to run a license plate on the car and find its owner.” “I know whose it is,” Max said. “I’ll visit with them as soon as this guy is transferred to the station.” “Thanks. Read him his rights.” Duke moved in the direction of his truck, mumbling under his breath, “Not exactly the direction I’d hoped my night would turn.” Ignoring the stab of disappointment he had no business feeling, Duke put his desire to go to Risa aside and got to work. **** Risa sat at the foot of her bed and pulled on her thick, wooly socks, her toes cold for the first time this season. The weather had begun to change and it wouldn’t be long before autumn came knocking on Quinten’s door. It would eventually turn biting cold, but Risa loved the way the change in the season woke her body up and made her take notice of the blood flowing through her veins. Other people could have beaches and seventy-degree winters, Risa didn’t think she could live without the mountains of Montana and the four clearly defined seasons the state brought as a part of its stark beauty. The old-fashioned bell attached to Risa’s back door sent a buzzing sound up a line and straight to her bedroom. She smoothed her cable-knit sweater, and with a light step tread quickly down the stairs. She flipped the two deadbolts and turned the lock in the knob. “You forget your keys?” she teased as she pulled open the door. “You’re early… Oh!” Her heart immediately hammered hard against her breast. “You don’t have keys. Hi.” So fast in his presence, and she already felt a little breathless. Duke leaned against the doorjamb, his clothes the same as their date last night. “No, you’re right. I don’t have a key.” He lifted his mouth at the corner, but it didn’t quite transform his haggard, stubbly face. “And I don’t want to lecture you, but you either need to get a peephole”—he tapped his finger against the center of her door…”or you need to ask who it is before you open the door.” “Noted.” Risa didn’t want to fight with Duke, especially when in this instance he was actually right. “I’d given up on you coming.” She stood back and allowed him entry. “Are you all right? You look tired.”

“I am tired.” Duke pushed away from the jamb, but stalled in place. “We pulled an all nighter and I couldn’t get away. I didn’t want you to think I’d stood you up.” “We didn’t have concrete plans.” Risa slipped her hand in his bigger one and tugged. “Come on inside.” “No, I need to get home.” Duke pulled against her hold, but not very hard, and she easily got him into the darkened little entry. “And you probably need to get to work.” “I have some time.” Risa locked the door and led Duke up the narrow set of stairs to her rooms. “You don’t have to expend any energy, you can just relax while I finish getting ready. We can talk.” Duke groaned, but let Risa sit him down on her bed. “Trying to keep on my toes in a conversation with you is going to exhaust me more than… Well”—his gaze moved all around the small, but cozy room…”you know. The other thing.” Risa pushed gently against Duke’s chest, and he went down against her pillow without any fight. She didn’t know this Duke; openly tired, maybe a little vulnerable because of it, interacting in the way real couples do when they’ve known each other for many years. She had wanted this Duke for such a long time. It skittered her heart that he allowed himself to let go with her a little bit, and trapped heavy emotion in her chest. He already behaved as part of a couple, even if he continued to fight it on an intellectual level. Risa moved to the foot of the bed and lifted his booted feet onto her lap. “Did you have any luck catching our crafty little thief?” she asked, glancing up at him out of the corner of her eye. He watched her without blinking as she pulled his boot off and set it on the floor. A small shiver slid down her spine, base awareness as a woman that he studied her and liked what he saw. She slid her hand under his leg and removed his other boot without flinching. “We didn’t,” he finally answered. His eyes followed her as she got up and moved about the room, touching, straightening, performing small tasks to keep her fidgety hands busy. “Caught a kid trying to steal a car, though. Could have happily gone the rest of my life without another foot chase. Thank God he didn’t get much of a head start or I don’t know how long I would have lasted against his youth and speed.” “You keep yourself in excellent shape, Duke.” Risa’s gaze strayed down the length of his hard, muscular body from where she stood next to her dresser. The beginnings of a bulge pushed against his jeans and her core automatically heated, flushing her cheeks. Her focus drifted back up to his ruggedly handsome face. “Probably more fit than most men half your age. You take care of your health and your parents blessed you with good genes. Humility is all fine and good, but false modesty is just that: insincere and transparent.” “You can’t see my joints,” Duke murmured, his voice rumbling from his chest. “You don’t know the things that creak that never used to make cracking and popping noises before. I have to accept these changes as a fact of my life.” “True,” Risa conceded. Her attention darted to the shape of a visible erection forming to the left of his zipper. “Is the hard-on a natural part of getting older too?” Red pushed through the hard lines of Duke’s cheeks, but he didn’t stray from her gaze. “A stiff dick in the natural result of thinking of you.” He reached down and rubbed himself through his jeans. Pleasure washed over his face as he said, “I usually take care

of it in the shower every morning.” Risa lifted her lips in a secret smile. “Not this morning you don’t.” She climbed on the bed, straddling his thighs and pulling on his belt, freeing the leather from its buckle. “Today you get something new.” The button snapped loudly in the sudden silence of the room, and the sound of the zipper sliding down made both their breaths catch. Duke’s gaze flew to hers. “I don’t know if this is such a good idea… Ohhh, Christ.” He gritted his teeth, hissing as Risa tugged his jeans and underwear down to his hips, springing his enormous, thickly-veined erection upright in front of her eyes. He grabbed his penis and pulled it up against his stomach, shielding part of it from her view. “You don’t have to do this.” Challenged, Risa arched a brow. Holding his focus on her, she cupped his balls instead and gently teased. Duke moaned and lifted his hips off the bed, his pleasure obvious in the darkening of his eyes, even if he still held onto his prick, as if it needed protection from her. Duke had big, lightly furred testicles, and they burned with heat in Risa’s hand. “Still think I’m not ready?” She reached behind his sac with the tip of her index finger and rubbed at a tiny, soft patch of skin. Duke made a strangled sound and started to pull on the length his cock. Risa chuckled knowingly. All those years of reading romance novels had definitely given her an upper hand. Finally, she had an opportunity to get it all out of her head and start experiencing it herself. She let go of Duke’s nuts, wrapped her hands around his wrists, and held them down on either side of his hips. His cock jutted long and thick in front of her once again, a shiny line of pre-ejaculate already dripping down onto his stomach. Risa bit her lower lip and lifted her focus up to Duke. “You ready?” Physically, his straining erection gave her an answer. She needed him to give her permission before she could take this next step; something that in many ways felt a thousand times more fraught with vulnerability than the two times they’d had sex. “Damn it.” He slid his eyes closed. His jaw clenched reflexively, visibly ticking in the well-lit room. His chest heaved, rippling his shirt as he took a deep breath. He opened his eyes, locked onto her, and nodded. Satisfied, Risa dipped down and took the mushroom knob of Duke’s penis into her mouth. Pungent flavors and smells immediately took over her senses and Risa took more, eager to know everything. Duke’s body jerked beneath her, and if she could have smiled, she would have. As she took more of his length inside, the saltiness of his taste and smooth texture of his skin attacked her senses, sending heat waves of awareness straight between her legs. Her pussy pulsed in tandem with Duke’s penis, his cock throbbing with life against her tongue and cheeks. She let go of his wrists and pushed her hands up under his shirt, searching his scorching hot skin until her fingers alighted over his flat nipples, already twisted with texture, giving away even more of his delight. Risa rubbed them between the V of her fingers, teasing them to poking points even more, making him squirm and gasp in response. She took a little more of his velvety penis past her lips, and at the same time, pinched his nipples and tugged. “Jesus Christ, woman.” Duke tunneled his fingers through Risa’s hair and pulled, stinging her scalp. It tingled, but didn’t hurt. In her panties, Risa swelled to painful excitement. “You have the most incredible hands and mouth. Don’t”—he twisted great

fistfuls of her hair and shoved more of his dick inside her mouth…”fucking stop.” He clearly needed more than Risa yet knew how to take. She pulled free and took her mouth away, leaving most of his red, pulsing penis wet and shiny with her saliva. She snogged the underside around the base and licked, wetting him all the way around at the root. Wrapping her fingers around his cock near the base, she took the rest of him back into the wet heat of her mouth and started jerking him off on the bottom half with her hand. “Ohhh, yeah.” Duke shivered all around her and dug his fingers into her scalp. “That’s it, that’s it. Fucking do it just like that.” He rolled his hips under her, grinding his ass into her rumpled quilt, clearly desperate for relief. She rotated her hand around the thick base of his erection and sucked on the rest, bobbing her head up and down over his rod again and again, eating as much of his searing, salty cock as she could. “Risa, Risa…” Duke’s thrusting became more erratic, and the pull on her hair more insistent. “Honey, I’m so close, I’m so fucking close.” He sounded breathless, and almost panicked. “Stop, stop now.” He tried to pull her head away from his crotch. “Not yet.” Risa didn’t want anything off limits in her relationship with Duke, not after having prepared herself for him for seven years. She let most of his rearing penis slide out of her mouth, holding just the bulbous tip trapped behind her lips. Swirling her tongue around the heated, leaking head, she pumped her hand up and down his wet length, giving him as much friction as he could stand. He apparently couldn’t take much. A great inhuman noise reverberated up from the very center of Duke’s being. Within seconds, his cock swelled and he shot in her mouth, dumping hot spurts of bitter seed onto her virgin tongue. The acrid taste shocked Risa’s taste buds, as she had expected more of the faintly salty flavor he had leaked thus far. His hips and thighs contracted and lifted off the bed in an arc as his orgasm rocked through him. Risa held on, determined to get every drop of semen that came forth from Duke’s beautiful, rippling cock. After long minutes Duke’s muscles relaxed beneath her, and his hands slid from her hair. His member slowly softened in her hand. Risa reluctantly parted her lips and let Duke’s penis slip free. She looked up at him, a smile touching her lips as she licked a drop of his essence from the corner of her lip with the tip of her tongue. His eyes darkened to the deepest shades of amber and Risa finally understood the full power of eating a man until he came. She couldn’t wait to do it again. Risa shifted to climb off his legs, and in the blink of an eye, Duke snagged her arm and hauled her up his body until she straddled his chest. “I don’t take selfishly, honey.” He pushed his big hands up the tops of her thighs, his thumbs meeting at her V. “Take you slacks and panties off.” He started opening the button fly himself as his heated gaze met hers. “I want to teach you a new way to ride.” Risa gulped and creamed her jeans.

Chapter Thirteen “Come on, sweetheart.” Duke slid his hands to the back of Risa’s thighs and guided her to her knees. “You made me lose it, and now it’s your turn. Off with the clothes.” He yanked her jeans and underwear to her knees. Cool air caressed her steaming sex, bringing even more awareness to that part of her body. Risa automatically lifted her left knee first and allowed Duke to pull her pants off one leg at a time. Duke had her jeans and underwear off in short order. Her socks and sweater remained on her body, and something about that seemed so wanton and base in the imagery that Risa shivered. Duke tugged her forward until her dripping pussy hovered just above his mouth. “Slide your legs apart a little more, honey.” He helped by spreading her knees wide on either side of his face until her cunt lips kissed his mouth. “That’s it. Open up nice and pretty for me. Let me see everything.” He inhaled, practically purring, and Risa almost passed out with pure need. “Christ, you smell decadent. I bet you taste like sin.” He darted his tongue out and licked her slit, lapping through her folds up to her clit. Risa bucked and yelped, forcing more of his darting tongue into her sex. He wrapped his big arms around her thighs and pulled her down onto his face, and Risa knew she had never done anything as intimate as this. His tongue probed deep into her channel, only to pull back and tease her with nips against her labia, and then thrust back inside her deeply once again. Risa grabbed the white painted bars of her headboard, squeezing the metal under her fingers, digging the rough, rusty paint into her hands as Duke fucked her with his wonderful tongue. She circled her hips against his face, unable to remain still. Sharp lines of sensation zapped in her belly, snaking up into her breasts, arms, neck, even through to her hair follicles, making her feel as if Duke had touched her with a live wire. Within minutes, Risa knew she would lose it completely and burst right out of her skin. Duke’s hands crept in between her legs from behind, teasing as his fingers joined his tongue, stretching her unbearably and making her shake. He slid his tongue out, but two fingers pushed in and kept up the steady, deep thrusts. The tip of his tongue parted the length of her opening and darted over her clit. Risa jumped, the unexpectedly light touch nearly pushing her right over the edge. In as quick a move, he took his mouth away. Risa whimpered, somehow feeling empty, even with the thick penetration of his fingers holding still in her cunt. “Look at me.” Duke’s voice cut through the silence, sharp enough to snap her out of her hazy dreaming. His eyes glowed dark and hot, the lower half of his face smeared with her juices. Risa’s insides seized hard, catching her breath in the back of her throat. She suddenly understood what watching her give him a blowjob had done to him, because with the way he looked right now, she very nearly cried in her desperate need for this one man. “Take off your sweater and bra.” He slid one hand out of her pussy and brought it around to the front of her body. Parting the top of her sex, he held her open with two fingers, exposing her aching, swollen clit to his and her eyes. “Do it.” He withdrew his two fingers from her pulsing channel, but torturously, slowly, pushed three back up

inside, stretching her pussy with unbearable delight. He shifted his eyes back up and trapped her gaze. “I want to watch you play with your tits while I suck on your clit and make you come.” Risa’s shirt came off in one smooth move, and the bra fell away next. She had no desire to disobey Duke at all. She worked her hips, riding his embedded fingers as she lifted her hands and covered the full mounds of her breasts. Her gaze stayed down on his, and she started to tweak her nipples, pulling on the very tips, twisting them with deep, aching pleasure. A growl reverberated through Duke, the vibration doing terrible, wonderful things to her pussy. “Jesus Christ,” he muttered, “I am your slave, and there’s not a damn thing I can do about it.” He watched her play with herself. And, as he did, he opened her up and flicked his tongue wickedly against her clit. Risa bounced on Duke’s face and tugged on her tits, giving and taking with no sense of right or wrong, only of their equal level of need. “Oh God, Duke.” The pleasure seeped inside her so deeply she could barely hold herself up. “It’s so good. Ohhh…” He scissored his fingers in her cunt, shooting new feelings of joy throughout her pulsing, weeping vagina. “You’re gonna rip me apart into a million pieces.” “I’ll put you back together. Come for me, honey.” Within her squeezing channel, he stroked his fingers over an ultra-sensitive patch of flesh. “Come right now.” He burrowed up into her mound and latched onto her clit with his lips, moving with her as she bucked and spiraled out of control. He held her swollen bead of flesh between his lips, fluttered his tongue over the engorged tip, and then sucked with just the right amount of force, all while still taking her pussy with three long, deft fingers. The first convulsion ripped through Risa from head to toe, throwing her headfirst into the light. “Yes, yes, yes…” She squeezed the bed tightly in her fingers, looking for a place to hold herself to earth. “Please, please,” she begged, she didn’t know for what. Bright flashes of white blinded her as her orgasm hit full force, shooting shockwaves of unbearable pleasure through every part of her body, beginning and ending in her cunt. The tunnel of her sex grabbed hold of Duke’s fingers, clutching his invasion with deep, throbbing strokes, made only more acute with his amazing tongue still working her clit. She shook above him for long minutes, her limbs trembling, wrung free of every ounce of sexual pleasure she could stand to feel. Finally, her strength completely sapped, Risa fell backward on Duke’s torso and legs, unable to stand another touch. Duke slid his fingers out of her sex and rubbed soothingly over her thighs. “You all right?” he voiced quietly. She nodded her head against his knees. “I think I’ll live.” She rolled over on her side and glanced at her digital alarm clock. “Although unless I want to explain why I’m late for work, I do have to hustle.” “Can’t have that.” Duke slapped her ass, shocking Risa to a sitting position in bed. “Come on, up you go.” He swung his legs over the edge of the bed, pausing to pull his jeans back up to his waist. “I need to shower again.” Risa stood on shaky legs, noting with appreciation that Duke left the zipper and snap open on his jeans. “You probably want one to, too. Right?” “Absolutely.” Duke gathered Risa’s clothes in a bundle and shoved them at her chest. Before she knew it, he swooped her up in his arms and cradled her against his chest. “We can do it together and save money on your water bill.” He started walking

them to the bathroom. “What do you say?” That she had stepped into an alternate universe where every one of her most secret fantasies looked like it might come true? No, she didn’t want to scare him. Instead, she simply squeaked, “Yes?” too dumbfounded by this new Duke to come up with anything else. “An obedient woman.” Duke barked with laughter, the sound rumbling through to her. “I love it.” For once in her adult life, Risa burrowed her face into Duke’s nape and let someone else take the lead. **** Risa dressed herself for competition, going through in her mind what she knew about Hot to Trot, the bull she had drawn in the first round. She didn’t know much, as Caleb had entered her in this Canadian PBR event at the last minute, wanting to use the competition as a way to get a better feel for the Canadian circuit. If he could get his bulls in up here he would find a way to buy land closer to the border and build a bull riding and breeding facility close to where opportunity presented itself. Risa knew he would never venture too far from his brothers—he loved his family too much to move down to the southern states or even into Mexico—but his determination to break into this arena within the next few years had become almost an obsession for him. Risa hoped it happened soon for Caleb. As a member of that family he loved so much, she didn’t want him to go too far away from home in order to find his dream. Risa slid her chaps on over her jeans, settling the buckle under her natural waist and cinching it closed. She squatted and lifted her legs out to either side one at a time, making sure the thigh buckles felt right, not too tight or too loose. That done, she slid her Kevlar vest in place and closed it with the Velcro fastenings. Her first ride wouldn’t take place for another hour or so, but she liked to dress early so that she could mingle with the other cowboys in the hallways and by the chutes, hoping that each time she did they got to know her as someone beyond “the girl rider.” She had already gone eye to eye with Hot To Trot and let him know how their dance would play out today; the rest was just jitters, adrenaline, and conversations about the rankest bulls until it came her turn to ride. A soft rap sounded on the office door. “Risa?” She immediately recognized Caleb’s voice. “Are you decent?” “I have it locked anyway,” Risa teased. She moved across the small office and opened the door. “So what does it matter?” “Doesn’t.” Caleb’s naughty boy smile twinkled his sapphire eyes. “But apparently you don’t have your cell phone turned on.” Caleb held out his. “You have a call.” Must be Luke. He usually tried to call her before a ride. Risa held the phone to her ear. “Sorry about the phone,” she said with familiarity. “We put this trip together so last minute that I had too many other things to do and forgot to charge it before we left.” She leaned her shoulder against the doorjamb. “Hope I didn’t worry you too much when you couldn’t reach me.” “Not too much,” Duke’s thick, deep voice reached her ear, tingling shivers down her spine. “I knew your plans, and the craziness of your schedule this week.” “Duke.” Risa’s face heated as she met Caleb’s knowing eyes. She stepped back and shut the door in his face, her heart riding in her throat. “Hi. I didn’t expect to hear from

you this weekend.” She rocked back against the door, her legs suddenly weak. “What’s up?” “Nothing. Everyone is fine.” He cleared his throat before he roughly said, “I just wanted to call and wish you good luck.” With that, Risa slid to the floor in an inelegant heap. “I know you don’t need it,” he added. “I’m sure you’ll do great.” Risa could barely speak through the lump blocking her throat. “Thank you.” Her voice came out as hardly more than a rasp. “That means so much to me. You don’t even know.” “I know I’ve behaved like a bastard in regards to your riding,” he said. “I did that in small part to help me keep my distance. The rest had to do with the danger, which still bothers me even now.” “I know,” she whispered. A line of wetness leaked out of the corner of her eye. “That’s why it means everything that you called me anyway and gave me your support.” “You have it. Knock ’em dead, honey. I’m working, but in between I’ll be thinking about you and hoping you have some good rides.” “Yeah. Different environment, different crowds, and a lot of bulls I have never even seen ridden before. It’ll be a unique experience all the way around.” “You have a gift for focusing on what you want, Ris. I know you’ll do fine.” Too much more from Duke and Risa wouldn’t be able to get up and walk to the chutes. “Thanks. I do everything full speed, even when it scares me. I don’t know any other way to live anymore.” Duke chuckled. “So I’ve noticed. Listen, when will you and Caleb get back from Edmonton?” “Our flight will get into Billings Monday afternoon. Barring no delays or Caleb wanting to take a detour for research, we should be back in Quinten by six or seven in the evening.” “Why don’t you drive out to the house when you get back?” Duke offered, his voice husky. “No matter what the time. I’ll make dinner. Something simple that will keep until you arrive.” “Really?” Even with everything they had done, in Risa’s mind this was such a gigantic step for Duke. “You sure you don’t mind? You really never can tell with Caleb. It could end up being late before we get back.” “Come. Even if you’re tired and we only sleep”—Risa almost swore she heard a curse under Duke’s breath…”I want you in my house.” Right then, Risa put that small, final, protected piece of her heart right in Duke’s hands. “I’ll be there,” she promised, her heart racing wildly, her soul completely exposed. “Keep safe. I’ll see you in a couple of days.” “You too, baby. Ride like hell. Bye.” “Bye,” Risa mimicked and ended the call. Smiling big, and goofy, and wide, Risa pulled herself off the floor and opened the door. Caleb pushed himself away from the hallway wall, his hand outstretched to retake his phone. “Everything all right?” he asked, humor lacing his smooth voice. “Perfect.” Risa moved down the long hallway, the familiar behind-the-scenes rodeo staging area slipping her focus back onto her job. “I am one hundred percent ready to

ride.” This afternoon, Hot to Trot didn’t stand a chance. **** Risa’s truck rattled over the dirt road that led to Duke’s house, the ride bumpy and jarring to say the least. She didn’t care, though, she couldn’t wait to see Duke again. Four days away from something so new had her missing Duke like crazy while competing in Edmonton. Nothing thrilled her more than the chance to ride. She never turned down an opportunity, but this weekend, with everything that had gone down, she couldn’t help acting a bit like a kid with ants in her pants. Even Caleb had commented on it during their flight home. He didn’t know the things Duke had said to her on the phone two days ago, though, he only knew she had a smile on her face that wouldn’t go away and that she looked close to jumping out of her skin. He only knew half the reason why. Duke’s farmhouse came into view, and Risa’s mouth salivated with longing. With a wraparound porch, whitewashed clapboard exterior, dark blue shutters on the windows, and a red painted door, Risa had dreamed she would live in this house and build a family with Duke. She imagined he would settle her in his lap on one of the big rocking chairs, and together they would watch the sun set behind the mountains to the west, or the sun rise early in the chilly mornings from over a line of evergreens that parted his property from the next patch of grazing land. She had lived with that hope in her heart for so long, but had almost given up on it a year ago when Duke’s stubbornness had really taken a toll on her tender heart. Thank God she hadn’t let it go completely. She couldn’t fathom sharing this new intimacy she had with Duke with anyone else. She honked the horn as she got closer, unable to contain herself any longer. Within seconds, Duke threw open his door and stepped out onto the porch. Risa pulled the brake on her truck, cutting the engine but leaving the keys inside as she tumbled out of the vehicle and flew in his direction. “I won! I won! I won!” He tore down the steps, and she launched herself into his arms. He wrapped her up tight, spinning her in a circle. She wrapped her legs around his waist and started planting dozens of little kisses all over his face. “Can you believe it? I didn’t want to tell you over the phone, and I swore Luke and Cain to secrecy so I could tell you myself. I won the whole event!” She locked her hands behind his neck and leaned back so she could see his face. “First place, top prize money, enough to sponsor a few more events. I got my first buckle and everything. I have it in the truck. I’ll get it and show it to you later.” “I’d love to see it. Congratulations, honey.” Duke smoothed his hand down her long braid, and his eyes never left hers. “I couldn’t be happier for you if I won a prize myself.” “Thanks.” She released the clamp on his waist and slid down his body. “Maybe I’ll model my trophy for you tonight. Wear it cinched tight around my waist with nothing else.” Duke’s face flushed full red and his gaze darted over her shoulder. “What?” Risa spun around. Quickly, heat rushed to her face too. On the porch, clearly having seen and heard everything, stood Ren and Cade.

Chapter Fourteen Embarrassed on Duke’s behalf, Risa stared at Ren and Cade’s knowing faces and wanted to sink right into the dirt beneath her feet. Duke might be fine with people seeing them kissing on the street and thinking they had gone on a couple of casual dates, but she just didn’t know how a guy like him would respond to everyone knowing the intimate details of their business when they had not yet defined it for themselves. Especially when one of those people was his son—and her best friend. “Ren.” For some reason Risa felt like the worst kind of traitor. “Hi. How are you?” Ren settled his shoulder against the porch post and slid his hands into his front pockets. “Not terribly surprised, thank you.” A hint of a smile touched his handsome face. “So quit blushing.” His gaze moved beyond Risa. “You too, Dad. I always knew you had discriminating tastes, but I never thought you were a virgin.” Ren’s focus shifted back to Risa. Without words, a world of awareness showed through his pale blue eyes. Their friendship went back almost seven years, and they knew pretty much all of each other’s secrets. Even the sexual ones. “Listen, Cade, sweetheart.” Ren pushed away from the post and moved to Cade’s side. “If we’re going to intrude on dinner—and we are—we need some nice bread or rolls to go with the pasta. Can you run into town and get something for us?” He leaned into Cade and gave him a quick kiss. “Thanks.” He turned to Risa and Duke. “Why don’t you take Dad with you? It’ll give him a chance to drive the new truck and see what he thinks.” Duke stepped around Risa, shaking his head. “Subtle, son.” He beckoned Cade to join him as Risa climbed the steps to the porch. “Real subtle.” Ren’s familiar smile quirked his lips up at one edge. “I didn’t mean to sound coy.” Duke’s penetrating gaze found Risa’s as he and Cade rounded the house to where they parked their vehicles in the back. “I won’t be gone long.” He slid his gaze up to Ren, and then back to Risa. She could swear she saw him shiver before disappearing from sight. Risa and Ren lowered themselves to the top porch step, each taking a side with a post against their backs. They watched the side of the house without words, waiting for a shiny new blue truck to roll by and down the dirt road before bringing their attention to each other. “Do you hate me for not telling you everything right away?” Risa brought a fingernail to her mouth and started buzz-sawing it down to nothing. “I just didn’t know what would happen with Duke at first, or if he would pull away before he even gave us a chance. I didn’t want to get all excited and happy with you and all ‘oh my gosh, it’s finally happening, he’s letting me in’ and then a week later have to admit that I jumped the gun. I figured you would hear about the kiss Cade witnessed, and maybe even that we had dinner, but that didn’t necessarily mean you would have concluded what I’m sure you just did based on what you saw and heard me say to him.” “I just saw my dad being tender with you, and a light in his eyes that hasn’t been that bright in a really long time.” Ren’s gaze glowed too. “It very nearly brought me to tears. I gotta say though”—he chuckled through a thickness of emotion…”I didn’t think I’d ever

see the day where he would openly accept and congratulate you about your riding. He is so fiercely protective, and that’s just not something he can control in any way. For that reason alone I figured if he ever let himself be open to something with you that he would mildly tolerate what you do, but pretty much flat out refuse to discuss it.” “He is making so much more effort than that, Ren,” Risa shared softly, vulnerable with her friend because he knew so much of her heart. “He has watched me ride at two events. And this weekend he called me and wished me good luck.” Ren whistled, low and long. “That is a huge deal for him. I don’t know what you’re doing—and God, he’s my dad, so my tolerance for details is pretty much nothing—but keep it up, it’s obviously working.” Risa dropped her head into her hand and scrunched up her face. “Promise you’re not mad at me for being a bit of sneak with everything the last few weeks? I haven’t deliberately held out on you, I just haven’t expressly told anyone anything. I don’t think Duke has either.” “Hey…” Ren’s smile turned wicked and he nudged her leg with his boot. “I’m just happy striking up a friendship with me all those years ago finally paid off. You had the patience of a saint, I’ll give you that.” Risa’s fingers and toes went numb. She pressed her back into the carved pole of wood. “What are you talking about?” Ren arched a dark brow. “Do you really think I never figured out why you all of a sudden sought me out as a swimming and movie buddy after just sort of being nice, casual acquaintances almost all through high school? For whatever your reasons, and God knows I don’t judge how the heart works, you fell in love with my dad when you hadn’t even yet turned eighteen. We became friends after that, not before. You wanted a way into my dad’s life with the hopes that he would one day look up and see you, and I afforded you the perfect way to do that.” Shame filled Risa up whole. “I didn’t do it with a malicious heart, Ren, I swear.” She leaned forward and grabbed his calf, squeezing hard. “I always liked you, but I didn’t always know how to make new friends back then. I covered it up with a lot of bluff, but I had a really tough time opening up with people on account of how much we moved around before we came here. Our friendship is real, please believe that. I love you just as much as I love Luke and my mom. I wouldn’t lose you for anything. Not even for Duke.” “Don’t sweat it, Ris, I never thought you were only pretending to like me.” Ren’s face turned briefly cold and hard. “God knows I couldn’t have gotten through those months apart from Cade without you to keep me sane.” Ren had hurt Cade terribly in the beginning of their relationship. As part of Cade’s healing process he had asked Ren not to have contact with him. Risa knew the private toll it had taken on Ren, but also knew he had to accept and weather through the separation as part of Cade’s path to forgiveness. “I didn’t ever think you were putting up a façade with me—we had way too much trust for that. I just figured out rather quickly that I came with a fringe benefit. I knew the reason you pursued a friendship with me in the first place was because of Duke.” Risa dropped her face into her hands. “I’m so embarrassed you figured that out.” She looked at Ren through the curtain of her fingers, her face flaming with heat. “It sounds so mercenary and calculating. It makes me look like some vampy little sex kitten looking to lure the older man into her bed. I never had any intentions like that, I swear. For all the fact that I know Duke is your dad in every way that matters, I have never looked at him

through those eyes. I noticed him as the sheriff who helped save my life first, and then as a man who befriended my brother and Cain when they desperately needed the support. I never saw it as a crush on ‘my best friend’s father,’ but rather an attraction to this one man, Duke Boone.” “You don’t have to sell me.” Ren offered a supportive smile. “I know your heart and I know my dad’s integrity, so everything is fine with me. You’re going to have to learn what Cade and I learned, though, and that is this: you will never convince everybody that what you have with Duke is okay and right. The trick is to figure which people are worth trying to get through to and knowing when to let the others go.” Risa drew her knee up to her chest and settled her chin on it. “When did you get so wise?” Laughter glittered in Ren’s eyes. “Sex raises your I.Q. points, didn’t you know?” He cocked his head to the side. “I’m a genius these days thanks to Cade. I guess that’s why you’re finally starting to catch up and sound highly intelligent too, huh?” He rolled up onto the porch, just dodging a jab to his stomach from Risa’s boot. He shot to his feet and raced inside, calling back, “So tell me, will my dad be quoting Nietzsche by the end of the week?” Risa tackled Ren near the sofa, giving him a half-dozen noogies until he finally cried “uncle” and promised not to tease her about her relationship with Duke again. She didn’t believe him for a second, but it felt damn good to have her closest friend back in her confidence. **** Duke looked up from the bed as Risa came out of his bathroom. “Well?” She turned in a circle, her hands in the air. “What do you think? Pretty darn cool, huh?” Risa stood beside the bed, her hair tumbled in waves down her back and over her shoulders, her dark red, pebble-point nipples peeking through the strawberry fall. Around her waist, without a damn other stitch of clothing, she wore a brown leather belt with her garish, big square rodeo championship buckle sitting dead center on her belly. “Christ, baby, I didn’t think you were actually going to model it for me.” When Risa had gone into the bathroom with her duffel bag he assumed she would change into sweats and a t-shirt to get some much-needed sleep. She hadn’t even gone home before rushing out here to see him. Duke’s heart constricted, for reasons other than how damn sexy Risa looked right now. “Come here, honey.” He stretched his hand out to her. “Let me see that up close.” Risa put her hand in his, strong and firm, but somehow still delicate within his. He tumbled her onto the bed and quickly tucked her body beneath his. “That’s better.” He lowered his mouth and pressed a kiss to her lush lips. “You earned yourself a real nice trophy.” He kissed her again. She pushed her head back into his pillow, breaking the kiss. “You’re not even looking at it,” she complained. She leaned up and nipped his lower lip between her teeth, completely losing her righteous ground. “I don’t have to look at it.” Duke fanned her hair out on his pillow, unable to stop touching and petting. “I can feel its shape against me.” He pressed his torso into hers. “We’re putting a goddamn brand of it on my stomach that I’ll be able to look at with

pride whenever I want.” “Oh.” Risa’s green eyes sparkled like trees reflecting on still lake water, and it very nearly undid Duke. “I kind of like the sound of that.” “I thought you would.” He smiled against her lips, going back to her delicious, curious mouth. She automatically spread her legs and created a cradle for him to nestle. Christ, Duke cursed himself, why in the hell had he put on a pair of sweats? Risa loosened her jaw for him and Duke delved his tongue inside her wet heat. Damn, it didn’t give him the same level of sheer physical pleasure as his rigid dick sinking into her pussy did—hell, it wasn’t even drinking from her slit—but somehow kissing this woman consumed him a thousand times more deeply than fucking her outright. Backtracking his thoughts, he figured it might be a good thing that he still had the barrier of his sweatpants between them this time. Just once, he would like to go slow with her. Shit, at this point, he would accept slowing down by half. Softly callused hands wound around his waist to his back, the touch so uniquely Risa that Duke would know it blindfolded in a room with twenty other women. Her fingers grazed down his spine, bringing forth a little shiver that turned to a tremor as her hands slipped under his sweats and over the globes of his ass, taking the fabric with her wrists until it ended in a bunch at the top of his thighs. “Take these off.” Risa pushed his sweats off herself, shoving them down his legs. He maneuvered with his feet, helping her get them the rest of the way off his body. “Mmm.” Her inner thighs rubbed seductively against his bared hips and legs. “I love how your skin feels right up next to mine.” “Jesus.” Duke moaned and levered himself up a bit. His cock had barely grazed her nakedness and it already twitched to get inside. “Give me minute to explore a little more of your smokin’ hot body before we get to the main event.” “But I need to feel you inside me again, Duke. I missed you while I was away.” She lifted her hips right off the bed and rubbed her slit along the length of his straining cock. “God, you’re fucking hard enough already to make me yours.” Her moist warmth tugged at Duke’s need to possess, but he gritted his teeth and guided her back down to the bed. He pulled her hands off his hips and locked them against the pillow on either side of her head, forcing her to stop. He loved that she gave him a good hard struggle to get free, while at the same time trapping his legs with hers, dragging him back down on top of her, letting him know she didn’t really want him to let her go. Duke caught the molten fire, the need, glittering in Risa’s gaze. His breath caught and his insides seized. It terrified him, but looking into her eyes felt dangerously like finding a new home. “Lady, you tempt me like no other.” He took her mouth in a fast, claiming kiss, but forced himself to break it and savor more than he had with her thus far. He peppered her jaw and chin with whisper-soft kisses and little flicks from his tongue, allowing himself to taste a sweetness so real it seemed to seep through her pores and flavor her skin. He used the flat of his tongue and licked the column of her throat, sucking on the ridge of her collarbone, pulling forth a shiver from her body. Still he held her down with the manacle of his hands. A bruise marred the slope of her breast, as well as her right shoulder and the upper half of her arm. “Such a beautiful body.” He grazed his mouth along each discolored

patch of flesh, careful not to nip or press too hard. “I hate to see it hurt.” “Manageable discomfort.” She rubbed the soles of her feet up and down the backs of his calves, reciprocating his touch in a different way. “What you’re doing is so wonderful I can’t even feel it right now.” Duke moved lower and salivated. Just from looking, his raging erection seeped his response against Risa’s inner thigh. Her raspberry-dark little nipples stood out in stark contract to her alabaster pale skin, and Duke couldn’t tear his eyes away. “I have never seen such perfect breasts as yours.” She had a little more than a handful—exactly a handful for him—with just enough heaviness on the underside to make her human and touchable. “I can’t believe I’ve gone this long without a taste.” He dipped down and remedied that horrific slight on the spot. He latched onto her jutting nipple and swirled his tongue teasingly around the rounded tip. Risa keened, high, almost inaudible, and clamped her thighs around his hips in a powerful hold. “Let me go, let me go.” She pushed in earnest against his hands. “Please, Duke.” Her hips rocked up against him. “I need to touch you too.” Duke let go and Risa immediately tunneled her hands into his hair, holding him firmly to her breast. “More, more…” She writhed against him, driving him insane. “Take more.” He stretched his jaw wider and took a good mouthful, filling himself with her. He sucked hard and pulled, distending her flesh and laving on it with his teeth and tongue. He ate voraciously, without fear of hurting or scaring her. He held her ample flesh to his mouth with his hand and suckled from her deeply, taking greedily of everything she offered. She pushed her other breast against his cheek and guided his head to her other needy tit. “Suck me, Duke, suck me.” She held herself up in offering, and he had no power to deny her. “Make me feel you all over.” He let one breast slip from between his lips and swooped in on the other. He suckled, licked, and nibbled as if he needed nourishment from her body. She encouraged him with each little bite, whimpering her pleasure and gyrating her sweet pussy against his prick, pushing him close to the breaking point below. Risa’s blunt fingers dug into his back and scraped up his spine, sending shivers of pleasure to his brain and core. Reversing her fantastically dexterous digits, she scratched down the outer line of his torso to his hips, and then over the globes of his ass. She squeezed, and it elicited a growl of pleasure from him. Her fingers parted his cheeks. Cool air grazed his asshole, which clenched tight. Duke stilled, but his heart started to race. Her breasts forgotten, Duke lifted his gaze to Risa, curiosity and uncertainty vying within. “I’ve read it can bring a lot of pleasure.” The pad of Risa’s finger rubbed softly over his trembling asshole. “I can try it on you, if you want.” Jesus, Duke had engaged in sex with a decent number of women, and none of them had ever wanted to play in his ass. Risa’s eyes shone openly up at him, no hidden agenda or desire to hurt hidden in any shadows. “Nobody has ever wanted to do this to me. Does it excite you?” he asked, more curious than judging. “Do you want to take me that way?” “The thought of giving you a new kind of pleasure excites me.” The apples of her cheeks bloomed with spots of color, and Duke could tell she chewed on the inside of her

cheek. “One day, if you wanted to, I trust you enough to let you take me that way. If that’s something you’ve ever thought about doing, I mean.” Duke expelled a shaky breath. “Honey, I think just about every man has at least thought about it.” He reached back, and with his hand shaking only a little bit, took one of her hands away and split apart his own ass. “I would never ask you to do something that I hadn’t done myself.” He met her gaze. “Wet your fingers. Do with me what you want.” Risa stuck three fingers into her mouth and sucked, her eyes wide on his the entire time. Just the act of readying herself excited Duke, and brought forth a trepidatious kind of arousal for what he had given her permission to do. He didn’t have any prejudices against it, but he had also never had fantasies of someone invading him anally, whether by fingers, toy, or another man’s dick. Watching her slick up her fingers, Duke’s channel squeezed in anticipation. Christ, just by wanting it herself, she made him crave it too. Her fingers slid slowly out of her mouth, so well coated that a string of saliva created a two-inch bridge between the tip of her index finger and lip before finally breaking apart. Reaching down, she settled the tip of her middle finger against his puckered ring. His ass automatically sucked in, trying to evade the touch. Risa pressed again, and this time he couldn’t get away. “Ready?” She began a gentle, steady caress over his hole, quickly getting him accustomed to her touch. Each time she circled, she applied a little more pressure, in turns exciting him and scaring him. Sometimes they intermingled and became one and the same. He lowered his mouth to hers and captured her lips in a soft kiss. “Do it.” He spoke the words against her lips, never breaking the connection of the touch. “Take me now.” He pushed back, she pressed in, and with a slice of piercing discomfort, her finger slipped inside his ass. Duke breathed heavily into Risa’s mouth and squeezed his eyes shut as he adjusted to the strange sensation of something trying to get inside his channel, rather than the other way around. His rectum pulsed around her invading digit, forcing him to feel every damn centimeter that rested inside him. She pulled out and pushed back in, and Duke grunted, never having felt anything so strange in his life. Beneath the burning a different kind of pleasurable sensation pushed to get out and take over, wanted to control the direction of this event. He covered her hand with his and forced more of her finger into his body. “Do it again,” he said through gritted teeth. “Do the fucking motion. Make me feel you in there.” Risa complied, finger-fucking Duke’s chute almost to the point of withdrawal before sinking back inside. Frissons of budding pleasure assaulted his anus, radiating from that one small connection, going both up into his belly and down into his cock. She pulled out, eliciting the weird sensation that he didn’t care for, but when she came back, the invasion felt immeasurably thicker, stretching his opening and walls anew. His eyes popped open and locked on hers. “Two?” “Yeah.” She nodded. “I don’t think you want any more than that. Let me see…” Her fingers twisted a little bit within his channel and a sharp shot of deep, intense pleasure stole his breath away. “Yeah.” She wore a secret, knowing smile. “There it is.” Duke bore back on Risa’s touch, searching for the fleeting feeling again. Risa found

the spot, and Duke practically choked. Only one thing in his life had ever felt better. Duke reached between their bodies and guided his aching penis to her soaking entrance. He held her eyes and sank deep inside her welcoming heat. “Does it turn you on?” Duke began a torturously slow push and pull through Risa’s snug, warm channel, all with her fingers still embedded in his ass, filling him up full too. “Does it feel like you’re fucking me while I’m fucking you?” “Yeah.” She undulated her hips into his penetration in a slow and easy a motion. “I like that we’re doing something you’ve never done with anyone else.” Duke shifted his elbows over her shoulders and cradled her head in his arms. “Honey, there isn’t anything we’ve done that I have ever experienced with anyone else.” He leaned down and scraped her mouth with his. His gaze found hers and held. “I promise you that.” Wetness filled Risa’s eyes. She pulled her free hand away from his hip and cupped his cheek. “I love you, Duke.” The absolute truth of it laced her voice, glowed in her gaze, and sank into him through her touch. “I love you always.” Duke’s mouth dropped open, but he couldn’t make the words come out. Christ, he had known she felt it, but hearing her say it tore through him like a tornado, leaving him wrecked. He couldn’t say the words back, he hadn’t said them to anyone but his son since well before his divorce. Besides, he didn’t have words for what Risa dragged out of him, perhaps they didn’t even exist. Something powerful, something buried deeply within, in a place he couldn’t access with voice, understood the emotion he fought and pushed it out of him in another way. He seared his mouth to Risa’s as emotions unlike any he had ever experienced overtook him, seizing control. With her fingers still jammed up his ass, Duke flooded Risa’s pussy with feeling and seed. He came hard and long for her, the only thing he knew how to give anymore. Risa must have sensed his limitations. She murmured, “It’s all right, it’s all right,” and just let him give what he could until it was over and he collapsed on her warm, loving body. Christ. Duke shivered in her arms. He had no idea where to go from here.

Chapter Fifteen Duke stepped up to the diner door just as Risa pulled it open from the other side and stepped out. “Oh, hi,” Risa said, her eyes smiling as sincerely as her mouth. “How are you?” “Good. Busy.” Duke pulled Risa out of the way of door traffic. A week had passed since she told him she loved him, and damn it if she didn’t make a point of saying it at least once every time they had gotten together since. He didn’t even try to lie to himself now. He stalled her right here on the sidewalk with the hopes of hearing it again. They’d reached nearly two in the afternoon without her telling him. He didn’t feel right without it. He touched the tip of her chilly nose. “How are you?” “Busy too.” She held up a brown paper bag. “Just picking up some food for me and Leigh. In fact, the store is hopping today, so I should probably run. I don’t want to leave her alone for too long.” “Oh, all right.” Duke ignored the stab of disappointment that pierced his belly. “Okay. I’m meeting one of my deputies for lunch anyway, so I’ll let you go.” He leaned down and pecked a quick kiss on her cheek. “Bye.” Risa grabbed Duke’s shirt before he took a single step back. “Is that it? Really?” She cocked her head to the side, quirked her brow, and her long braid shifted over her shoulder. “We’ve barely dated a month and we’re already at the stage where you only press a fast kiss to my cheek when we cross paths?” She slid her hands around his waist, paper bag full of food and all, and tugged him close. “Come on, Sheriff, I think you can do better than that.” Fire burned right down to Duke’s dick. “You want breathless?” he challenged back. “Oh yeah.” Risa stood up on tiptoe and got right on level with his mouth. “If you think you’ve got it in you.” Duke backed Risa against the diner’s brick wall. “Now see…” He put his mouth right next to her ear and talked real soft. “I thought the general idea was for me to get it”—he dipped down and rubbed his cock against her belly…”into you.” He slid his hands into her back pockets and stepped right up between her legs. “I have tonight free.” “Not anymore.” Duke pressed his lips almost to Risa’s, and looked right into her pure green eyes. “Hi,” he greeted her again, his voice husky and thick. He hardly touched her, and he already felt a little short of breath. Her lips turned up against his in a smile. “Hi…” Duke stole anything else she might have said with his kiss. He kept in control—just barely—taking a searching, long taste of her sweetness, but hardly darting inside for more than a quick lick, lest she take his tongue over and drag him under the tide. He moaned, reluctant to pull away from her warmth. He planted two fast, hard kisses against her lips, forced himself to let go of her ass, and took two steps back. “Go.” He pointed in the general direction of Nate’s. “Otherwise I’m going to drag you into a side street and get us both in trouble for skipping out on work.” He smiled wryly. “Not to mention public indecency. Damn it, woman, you make me forget the

difference between right and wrong.” “Easy to remember.” Risa started back-walking away from him. “Everything you do with me is right.” “Right.” Duke chuckled and shook his head. “I’ll try and remember that.” “You do that. Oh.” She paused. “And, Duke?” He loved the way his name sounded on her lips. “Yeah, honey?” “I love you.” She winked. “That’s what you wanted to hear, right?” Duke’s heart raced. Christ, she knew him too well. He leaned into the wall he had just had her up against, his legs suddenly too shaky to stand without support. “I’ll thank you tonight,” he answered, not willing or able to give her that much outright power over him yet. He lifted his hand. “Bye.” Risa waved and spun around, her step light and springy, her walk incredibly sexy, without a single sway of her luscious, powerful hips. “You got yourself a nice one there, Sheriff,” an easy, good-old-boy drawl said from behind him. Duke pushed upright and found Jodie Pinter watching Risa as she ate up the sidewalk, quickly becoming a pinpoint in the distance. “Yep.” Duke couldn’t exactly deny it. “I do.” “Ain’t nothing like a sweet young body to make a man feel like a young stallion again,” Jodie added with a low whistle. “And a girl that strong, whew, guess you don’t have to worry about being delica…” Duke grabbed Jodie’s fat neck and shoved the man up against the wall. “You got a death wish, friend?” he hissed, his voice oh-so incredibly soft. “Talking about a woman like that in my presence?” “I didn’t mean nothing.” Jodie clawed at Duke’s hand, his eyes big as they darted side to side. “It’s a compliment. Risa is young, and sweet, and damn pretty too. You’re a lucky man to have landed her. I guess Ren put in a good word for…” Duke had his fist cocked back ready to pop this jerk in the mouth. At the same time, strong arms wrapped around his torso and yanked him out of range. Jace Maxwell, one of his deputies, a man who matched Duke inch-for-inch in height and darn near pound-forpound of muscle put a hand to the center of Duke’s chest and held him back. “You don’t want to do this, boss.” Jace stood between Duke and Jodie, obstructing his view. He clearly did it deliberately. Jace turned his head and addressed the guy slumped against wall. “You want to forget this ever happened, Mr. Pinter. You gotta understand a man’s right to protect what he thinks are disparaging comments about his woman, right?” “Yeah, of course.” The man smoothed his hands down the front of his shirt. “I’ve taken a swing or two at a cowboy myself once or twice. No harm, no foul.” Jace nodded. “Why don’t you go on into the diner and have a meal. I’ll be inside in a minute and make sure Mavis knows to put it on the station’s tab, okay?” “Thanks, deputy, I’ll do that.” Jodie Pinter quickly disappeared into the eatery. Jace turned back to Duke, concern in his pale green eyes. “You all right?” Duke still wanted to hit something. Repeatedly. “I need to take a walk and cool off. Can you get the food for everyone?” He had scheduled a meeting with his deputies so they could strategize on their petty thief case. “You all go ahead and eat, and we’ll throw ideas around in an hour.” “No problem.” Jace nodded. “It’ll give us all a chance to think on it a little more. See

you in a bit.” “One hour.” Duke turned and started walking, no destination in mind. He had sixty minutes to clear his head of the idea that an entire town had the exact same thoughts that yahoo Jodie Pinter had idiotically said aloud. That Sheriff Duke Boone was an old fool having a grand old time with a girl half his age, and that he had used the connection between Risa and Ren to make it happen. Duke had known from the get go most folks would probably think this way, but he hadn’t anticipated just how much it would sicken his stomach to hear it said by one of the citizens of his town. He really didn’t like looking like a lovesick lapdog being led around by his dick. He knew Risa held no responsibility for people perceiving their relationship this way. She hadn’t done anything but be herself. The problem lay entirely with him. He couldn’t control himself whenever they got within five feet of each other. His attraction took him over so completely he couldn’t keep his head and hold back a little bit. Without her even trying, she sucked him back down into a place he swore he would never go again. He’d gone into this relationship with her knowing it would only be a matter of time before he had to deal with the opinions of others intruding on them. Part of the problem stemmed from the fact that Duke didn’t exactly know what he and Risa were to each other. And that only made it all the more complicated and messy when other people starting weighing in with their views. Duke hated messy and complicated. Crap. **** Duke pushed through the station’s front door, his thoughts and emotions about the situation with Risa no more resolved than an hour ago. He pushed it to the back burner and paused at Sarah’s desk. Hooking his finger over a book about the Roman Empire—something she read entirely for pleasure—he dragged the tome away from her face. She looked up at him with a sheepish smile. “Sorry, boss.” “No problem.” Duke did, however, snag a slip of paper off her desk and slide it between the pages. “Can you give me five minutes to get situated and then send everyone into my office? Thanks.” “Sheriff?” Sarah grabbed Duke’s arm, stalling his exit. “Yes?” Duke paused, but his mind had already moved to his office and that damn corkboard on his wall. By keeping hard-targeted tabs on various sections of town, they had arrested a good handful of people—mostly teenage boys trying to steal cars. They had even caught an ex-husband attempting—in the dead of night dressed in head-to-toe black, no less—to kidnap what he considered his cat from his former spouse. They were all good arrests that made Duke happy, but it seemed as if the target of their attack had gone underground. Duke didn’t think for a minute the thefts had ended, but he did question their assumption that they would find a kid responsible when they caught him. This person struck Duke as more calculated and patient than a teenager. Damn it, he just hoped something would leap out and click everything in place, soon. Fingers snapped in front of Duke’s face, jerking him out of his wandering thoughts. “Sorry.” Duke put his full focus on Sarah. “What did you want to tell me?” Sarah grabbed her ringing phone, put the person on hold, and came back to Duke.

“Luke Forrester came in to see you around a half hour ago. He wanted to talk to you and said he had time to kill, so I put him in the interrogation room with a newspaper to keep him busy. He’s waiting for you right now.” “Did he say what he wanted?” Duke carefully modulated his voice and ignored the rock that settled in his stomach. Nothing could have happened to Risa. He had just seen her, and even if he hadn’t, someone would have informed him of any emergencies by now. “Is he having problems out at the ranch?” The local law kept a tight lid on vandalism and hate crimes, but every once in a while something got through. They’d dealt with some feces left on Cain and Luke’s porch, and someone had taken their dog and tied it to a tree across town so it couldn’t go home, frightening the men half to death. “Another attempt to scare them?” Sarah shook her head. “Don’t think so. He chatted with everyone when he came in. I think he would have gotten someone right on it if something had happened. He just said he wouldn’t have time to get back with you later and that he’d rather stick around and talk with you today.” Then it had to be personal. The hairs on the back of Duke’s neck shot up to full alert. “All right. Thanks, Sarah. Hold everyone off for a little while longer. I’ll go talk to Luke now.” Duke strode down a long, fluorescent-lit hallway, stopping at the final door on the left. He talked down his sudden case of jitters, gave a cursory knock, and entered the room. The newspaper Sarah had mentioned remained folded on the gunmetal gray table that took up most of the space in the room. Luke had clearly chosen to use his time pacing. When Duke opened the door, he caught the man mid-step. “Luke, hi.” Duke closed the door behind him. “Sarah said you wanted to talk with me. Is this all right?” He indicated the interrogation room with a whirl of his finger. “Or would you rather go to my office?” Luke met Duke straight on. “No, here is fine.” “All right.” Duke stuck his hand out and got a quick, firm shake. “Why don’t you sit down?” He pulled out a chair for Luke and took one on the opposite side of the table for himself. With both men settled, their hands clasped identically on top of the table, Luke cleared his throat and laid a piercing silver gaze on Duke. “I will start by saying that you’ve been a great friend to me and Cain, and I just want to preface that I discounted none of that when deciding whether or not to come and talk to you today.” Duke’s fingers dug into the hold he had on his hands, but his face remained impassive, and his voice stayed steady. “Understood.” He dipped his head. “Go on.” “I have real concerns about what you’re doing with my sister,” Luke said directly, emotion fusing his rich voice with power. “Real, honest to God issues that churn up a lot of questions concerning you hooking up with her.” Duke didn’t cower, but neither did he attack. At least, not as he had done with that jerk on the street. This was Risa’s big brother. Arguably the most important person in her life. “I don’t deny that the age difference between Risa and me is huge, I do acknowledge that. If a member of my family got involved with a much older man, I would question…” “I could give a shit about your age,” Luke cut in, his words clipped. “The fact that you’re a good deal older than my sister is the least of my concerns.”

Duke reared back, stunned. “Then … what?” He searched his mind, but it had quickly become a vast wasteland of windy, whistling desert. “You know me, Luke, you know I’m not a jackass. You know I would never use her or hurt her.” “Maybe not on purpose. But how about the fact that we’ve shared this town for a lot of years and I have never once seen you in a committed relationship with a woman,” Luke challenged, striking Duke a painful blow. “That tells me one of three things: one, you can’t put yourself into anything long term with a partner, two, you simply don’t want to, or, three, that you’re secretly in the closet and the dating is a façade.” Luke crossed his arms against his chest and arched a brow. “Now, I don’t think you’re gay, Duke. Do you want to tell me that I’m wrong?” Duke pried his hands apart and got to his feet. He wouldn’t run from the conversation, but he needed to move. “You’re not wrong.” He paced the length of the small room. “I’m not gay.” “Then that makes me all the more worried about my sister’s heart.” Luke got to his feet too, but moved to the door. “I don’t think I need to tell you she is already in deep with you. You need to end this, now, while there’s still a chance she can recover her heart and get over you. Because I’m telling you right now”—steel laced Luke’s voice…”you do with her what you’ve done with the other women you’ve dated—a few dinners, get what you want until it becomes too much and then move on—and I will come for you, Sheriff. I won’t give a shit that you’re the law. Not when it comes to my sister.” Luke’s gaze seemed to look right into Duke’s soul and see everything he’d stamped down for so very long. “Think about what you’re potentially doing to one of the best goddamned people in this world.” With that, Luke left him alone. Duke tunneled his fingers into his hair and pulled, his head spinning with too many dangerous thoughts. “Shit, fuck, damn, sonofabitch.” Luke was absolutely right. He had consciously, deliberately, kept all of his liaisons with the women he dated very casual, and pretty damn brief. He’d just thought he’d exhibited a little more discretion and that most of them passed by without people noticing them. Damn it if he apparently hadn’t drawn just as much talk in his direction by keeping them all so quiet. Fuck, no wonder Luke felt so damn certain he knew how things with Risa would end. He’d already seen how the other half dozen or so had. Duke thought about the women he’d dated since moving to Quinten, all of them lovely, kind people who knew the score when he’d begun dating them, but also probably deserved more than he could ever give them. More often than not, they ended up breaking it off with him when it reached a point where they had every right to expect things to move to another stage, and he wanted to keep it light. Most of them had been widows and were now married again, happy and content. Duke thought about Risa moving on to another man and finding stability, and likely marriage and children. He growled, already fighting the urge to tear this faceless husband limb from limb for stealing his woman. His woman. “Shit.” Duke’s gut churned with nausea, but he knew what he had to do. His heart racing, making him dizzy, he tore out of the interrogation room and ate up the hall in four long strides. He barely paused at Sarah’s desk, saying, “Reschedule the meeting for half an hour from now. Apologize for me. Something has come up that can’t wait.”

Duke made the walk in the brisk air in five minutes flat, fear pumping adrenaline through his heart fast enough to put him into a sprint. He pushed through Nate’s front door, found Risa talking to one of the young bucks that worked Hawkins Ranch, and quickly pulled her to his side. “Duke.” Risa’s face went from open and pleased, to one of concern. She lifted her hand to his cheek and forehead, pressing the back to his skin. “You okay? You’re a little flushed.” “Yeah, no, I’m fine. I don’t have a lot of time. I have to get back to work, but I just need to talk to you for a minute. Just, yeah…” “Duke.” Risa grabbed his head and focused him on her. “What is it? Spit it out.” “We should get married.” Duke jumbled it up badly, but Christ, after his divorce he’d sworn he would never do this again. He’d never once had the urge to change his mind. Until now. “We should do it soon.” In front of him, Risa paled and stumbled.

Chapter Sixteen Duke grabbed Risa’s elbows before she fell smack back on her ass. She put her hand to her chest in a feeble attempt to calm her racing heart. “Excuse me?” Her voice barely came out as more than a whisper. “Did you just say what I think you said?” “You heard me clear enough.” Duke slid his hands into the front pockets of his jeans and rocked back on the heels of his boots. His face regressed to that former granite mask Risa still had a hard time deciphering sometimes. Like now. He cleared his throat and met her gaze without blinking. “So, do you want to marry me, or not?” “Where did this come from?” Risa’s mind flew through every moment she had spent with Duke since that kiss in his office on the day Nate’s had been robbed. God, had she given off a needy vibe? She hadn’t meant to do that. “You only kissed me for the first time a little over a month ago. Why have you all of a sudden made a jump to marriage?” “We’re headed in that direction anyway, right?” he asked, sounding just a little belligerent. Hope, and a quickly unraveling excitement started to wind its way through Risa’s insides. Duke had asked her to marry him! Risa pushed that ages old dream down, but it banged damned hard inside her to get out and scream. “I hope so,” she said evenly, using every stop reflex in her system to keep herself from launching right into Duke’s arms and kissing him from top to bottom. “You already know how I feel about you.” “So why wait?” Duke said. “You had to know my intentions the first time I took you to bed. You’re different.” He looked away, his jaw clenching hard in a way that tugged at Risa’s already fully engaged heart. A moment passed and he came back to her, his slip of emotions back under control. “I could never sleep with you and walk away. Tell me you’ll marry me, and I’ll make sure everyone knows it by sundown.” Duke didn’t say the words outright, but Risa knew the man well enough to read between the lines. He couldn’t say it yet, but she knew he loved her. She felt it in her gut. One morning he would wake up and realize she would never use that powerful emotion over him, and he would wonder why he couldn’t say the words right from the start. Risa wanted to be beside him in that bed in his farmhouse when he finally let go and fully opened his heart. “Well?” He raised an eyebrow, and she realized she’d left him on the hook for an uncomfortably long stretch of time. To hell with hearts and flowers and stupid, romantic straining violins. She’d never liked pink and ruffles anyway. “Yes! Yes! Yes!” She let the real Risa free and flew into Duke’s arms. Locking her arms around his neck, she looked up into his rough and handsome face. “Of course I’ll marry you.” She jumped up and wrapped her legs around his waist, squeezing him with all her might. He stumbled a little under her enthusiasm, but quickly slid his arms around her, shielding her back from a metal shelf lip. “I love you so much, Duke. I know I can make you happy.” His eyes softening to pale gold, he lifted his hand and gently brushed flyaway strands

of hair out of her face. “You’re already doing it, honey.” He cupped her nape and pulled her to him for a soft, sweet kiss. Applause, whistles, and cheers went up all around them. Duke pulled back, his cheeks cutely staining red as they both remembered they had a small crowd close by. They glanced at the half-dozen customers in the store, all openly staring and nosing in, clearly having heard their entire conversation. Duke lowered Risa to the floor, but clasped her hand, keeping her close to his side. “She said yes.” “So we heard, so we heard,” one of the cowboys spoke for the small crowd. “Congratulations.” He stepped up and shook Duke’s hand. “You too, Ris.” The cowboy gave her a quick one-armed hug. “I promise I won’t tell the other guys when I get back to the bunkhouse. I’ll let you do the honors.” “Thanks, Jasper.” Risa rubbed the blond man’s shoulder. “I appreciate that.” After everyone else in the store gave Duke and Risa a handshake, high five, or hug, Duke tugged Risa outside. “Listen, I have to get back to work.” He glanced at the watch on his strong, tan wrist. “I’ve already pushed this meeting back three times and I can’t afford to do it again.” “I understand.” Risa glanced up as another cowboy walked through Nate’s front door. “I have to get back to helping Leigh myself.” She smiled wryly. “Advertise you’ve got a big inventory sale going on and the men come out in droves worse than women circling a ninety percent off clearance rack.” “Right.” Duke stalled, one of her hands loosely held in his. He rubbed her knuckles with his thumb. “Come by later?” she prompted. She held his gaze. “Celebrate in the way we both want to do right now?” Duke’s gaze lit to luminous gold. “It’ll be late. I can’t make any promises.” “Call me right before you leave, and I’ll come down and let you in.” “All right, I will.” Duke’s lips compressed in a hard line, and he bit off a curse under his breath. “I’ll take care of this, you know.” He tugged on her hand and lifted it, holding it between them. “It might not be tomorrow, or even the next, but as soon as I can. I promise.” Risa scrunched her brows together. “Take care of what?” “A ring.” He traced her fingers, all of them bare. “An engagement ring. I didn’t think of that when I came over here, but I’ll do it soon.” Risa’s heart melted. He looked so sweet and cute when he fretted. “It’s okay, I know your plate is full right now. I don’t need proof that you asked.” She slipped her arms around his waist and looked up into his eyes, a sense of lightness stealing over her entire being. “If you need a constant reminder, maybe I should be the one getting an engagement ring for you.” Duke chuckled and leaned down until their foreheads touched. “Maybe an engagement truck.” He kissed her, his lips turning up in a smile. “Or an engagement plasma TV.” He nipped her lower lip and tugged. “No, I know, one of those custommade engagement poker tables with authentic Las Vegas chips, and maybe a pool table and air hockey to go with it… Hey!” He jumped out of the way before Risa could get another swat at his ass. “Careful with the goods.” He rubbed his butt. “Remember, you have to live with them for the rest of your life.”

“I can’t wait.” She leaned her shoulder into the storefront glass and blew him a kiss. “Be safe. I’ll see you tonight.” Duke snatched her kiss out of the air and touched it to his cheek. He waved and started off in the direction of the station, his stride sure and even. Risa rolled her back against the big picture window, her heart bursting open, shining in her eyes. They were getting married! Duke might not be able to say it in so many words, but Risa knew he felt the same about her as she did for him. She had never seen him so teasing and easy like this in the entire seven years she’d begun noticing everything about him as a man. His heart was engaged, she felt it strongly within hers. Nothing else mattered. All of the other little things would work themselves out. They had to. They were in love. **** Risa slid a white thermal shirt on, pushing her head through the neck hole and adjusting the ribbed cuffs at her wrists. She tugged on the gathered waistband, pulling it down over the elastic of her blue flannel pajama bottoms. She pulled her hair out from underneath the sleep shirt and swirled it in a loose knot at the nape of her neck, studying herself in the mirror over the bathroom sink. Not horrid, but not fantastically stunning either. Her general assessment of her physical features hadn’t changed tonight just because Duke had asked her to marry him today. She was just … Risa. She didn’t know how to objectively view herself through eyes other than that. Duke obviously saw plenty to like, and beyond not seeing terribly distorted visions about her beauty or lack there of, Risa didn’t much think about her appearance any more than that. Now if someone wanted to talk with her about sheer physical power in relation to how she handled herself—or could improve herself—in relation to riding bulls, Risa could compare notes and talk about physical conditioning with any trainer, doctor, or rider on the tour, and not get bored. She worked out four days a week with Caleb in his home gym, using his knowledge as a former rider to condition all of her body in balance, while also targeting certain groups that needed extra flexibility and strength. In addition, much of the work she did for Hawkins Ranch involved physical labor, from rounding up and driving cattle on horseback, all the way down to mucking out stalls, if needed. She knew that all helped her feel good about herself, the certainty that she could hold her own in any situation— The phone rang, jarring loudly in the silence of her rooms. Risa raced to her bedroom and snatched the receiver off the cradle. “Hello?” Almost giddy, she didn’t even wait for a response. She tore down the stairs to unlock the back door for Duke. “How in the hell do you not call your brother when somebody fucking asks you to marry him?” Luke’s voice cut through the line. Risa slid to a stop in her socked feet. “Luke.” She backed up and lowered herself to the bottom stair. Not Duke quite yet after all. “I did call you. I left a message on your machine.” She smiled and shook her head in the darkness. “I said, ‘It’s Risa, call me.’ I distinctly remember doing it. Obviously Mom got to you before you got around to getting back to me.” “I just got off the phone with her,” Luke said. “Imagine my shock.” Risa shifted and leaned her head back against the wall, bone-weary tiredness starting to sink in. “Before you get pissy with me, I would have called you back after I got off the

phone with Mom, but Caleb got a call in to me first. We’re going down to Wyoming this weekend for that special event, remember? He wanted to finalize some plans and talk through the animals I drew. He emailed me a list of the bulls scheduled for the short go round, and wanted to familiarize me with a few I’ve never seen or heard of before. After I got off the phone with him, I was tired. I ate and took a shower. I forgot to call you back. Sorry. My bad.” She grumbled a little bit there in the dark. “But in fairness to me, I had already called you. You’re the one who didn’t call me back right away. Your little sister and everything. Shame on you.” “Yeah… well… so…” Luke paused, sighing. “Can we forgive and forget that, and move on?” “You got it.” “So.” Hesitation laced Luke’s normal confidence. “You’re getting married. To Duke Boone.” He said the name as if he just could not quite believe it. “Yes, to Duke Boone,” she mimicked. “I would never marry anyone else. I could never love anyone else the way I love him.” “Yeah, Cain clued me in on that a little while back. I don’t know how I never saw it. I must be slipping in my duties as a brother.” Risa’s chest tightened with a familiar, safe love. “I don’t think brothers ever want to believe their sisters can have those kinds of feelings. Especially big brothers. Your instinct is to protect and make sure I don’t get hurt.” “Do I have to worry about that here?” Luke pressed. “I like Duke, Ris, you know I do. But we’re talking about a man who went through an ugly marriage and divorce that scarred him big time.” “You don’t know anything about his marriage or divorce.” Risa’s hackles rose like a mama bear. “It was over and done with before he ever came to Quinten with Ren.” She happened to know about the ugliness of Duke’s split through Ren, but she would never speak out of turn about it to anyone else. “Don’t make accusations you can’t back up with proof. Duke is a good man. That’s all you need to know.” “He’s a controlled, often closed off man,” Luke said. “My fear is that he can’t be as loving a husband as you deserve.” “Cain is controlled and very reserved,” Risa pointed out. Luke didn’t get to make generalizations about her man without looking at his own. “Should I have warned you off of him seven years ago?” “No. But I gotta tell you something, sis,” Luke replied. “In the beginning I felt I had to pull teeth sometimes to get Cain to trust me and tell me what he felt in his heart. My fear is that Duke is so set in his ways he won’t be able to change them for you. I don’t want you to wake up one day and realize you’re working twice as hard to get him to give you half as much, just because you love him so much.” Risa wiped a tear from the edge of her eye. Her damn brother. She really did love him to bits. “I’m going into this with my eyes open,” she shared. “I know he won’t give me an ‘I love you’ every single time I say it to him, but that’s okay with me. I’ve seen him with Ren, and you have too. I know he’s capable of earthshaking love when he trusts it and feels secure. He’ll be that way with me one day, I know he will. I just have to give him the time to get there on his own. Marriage will allow him to get used to me that much quicker, and if we both ultimately want the same thing, then I agree with him, I don’t see the need to wait. You have to trust me, Luke, I know what I’m doing. I’ve never wanted

anything more, or been so sure in my life.” She could practically hear her brother rubbing his face in resignation on the other end of the phone. “Then I guess there’s nothing left to do but give you away.” Risa chuckled. “Relax, bro, it’s not happening tomorrow. My life keeps me very busy these days, or did you not hear me say I’ve got a competition to get ready for this weekend.” “Yeah, I actually talked with Cain about that today. We shuffled some stuff around, and he says he’ll suffer through the weekend without me. I’m gonna hitch a ride to the event with you and Caleb. It has been too long since I’ve seen my baby sister ride.” Risa perked right up. “Oh, that’s so great!” Conscience stabbed at her. “Are you really sure Cain won’t be too overworked with you gone?” Their horse rehabilitation farm offered riding lessons and trail rides to people with special needs, and they did the majority of that work on the weekends. “I know your business is really picking up.” “We have a light schedule this weekend,” Luke promised. “It just happened to work out. I’ll see you Friday. All right?” “Sounds good.” She stifled a yawn. “’Night.” “’Night. Oh, and, Risa?” “Yeah?” “If you really are happy, then I’m happy for you.” “I am. Thanks, Luke. Love you.” “Love you, too. Bye.” Risa clicked the “talk” button and ended the call. She set the phone down on the next stair up, her heart full up to the brim. She felt so fortunate to have such a great family. Her mom had wanted to fly straight home when Risa had told her about Duke’s proposal. Risa had cut that right off, not wanting to intrude on whatever closeness her mom must be feeling with Nate’s memory while touring all through Europe at his request. Assuring her mom that the wedding wouldn’t take place tomorrow, or any time, without her in Quinten to witness it, Risa had let her mom get back to her tour of Spain’s castles. Unlike Luke, her mom had always known how Risa felt about Duke. She had seen it right from the start and supp— Her doorbell buzzed. In the darkness, Risa half jumped out of her skin. Hand to her chest, she got to her feet and walked to the door. “Who is it?” “You make me hard knowing that you listened and didn’t just throw open the door without checking,” Duke’s deep voice carried through the thick wood. Risa quickly flipped the light switch and worked the locks, throwing open the door. Duke stood tall and big in the shadows on the other side. “I got a busy signal a bit ago,” he explained as he stepped over the threshold. “Sorry I didn’t try back before showing up.” “Family.” Risa closed the door and reversed all the locks. “And some business.” Duke nodded knowingly. “I figured.” Nervousness skittered through Risa’s insides, and she didn’t exactly know why. She leaned against the cold wall, shivering as it sank through her clothing, chilling her skin. She looked up at Duke, so dark and handsome. Her fiancé. Right there in her shadowed little back foyer, Risa flooded at the thought. She licked the edge of her lip. “I got in touch with my mom and told her about your proposal. I also just got off the phone with Luke. He knows too.”

Duke nodded, the gesture jerky. “Good. I called Ren a few minutes ago and told him, so I expect you’ll hear from him tomorrow.” “I’m sure I will.” Risa looked Duke up and down, pausing briefly on the bulge in his pants. God, he’d spoken the truth. Her gaze drifted back up to his, not cowering one bit. “Duke?” He shucked his jacket off and tossed it on a ladder-back chair, the only piece of furniture in the foyer. “Yeah, honey?” “Is there some reason you’re still standing three feet away when your dick is telling me you want us an awful lot closer?” “You looked a little nervous when I first walked in.” He slid his law issue utility belt off and draped it over the back of the chair. “I didn’t want to pounce.” “Duke?” Risa drew her shirt over her head, baring herself for him from the waist up. He looked, his Adam’s apple bobbing convulsively as he swallowed. “Yeah?” She cupped her heavy breasts, held them up in offering, and said, “Pounce.”

Chapter Seventeen Duke’s eyes flashed yellow fire, and he swooped right in on Risa. “Christ, Ris.” He covered her breasts and squeezed. Risa’s breath stopped, trapped in her throat as he tweaked her nipples wickedly, quickly pushing her flashpoint up a notch. “You know how to get right to the point.” He skated his palms down her sides and hooked his hands in her waistband. “I love that about you.” He pushed under the elastic of her pajama bottoms, caressed her hips and ass, cupping her cheeks in a way that weakened her knees. She grabbed his shirt, tearing at buttons as he pushed her bottoms down, letting them slide to a pool at her feet. She kicked them aside, luxuriating in being naked with him again. “I don’t have time for games.” Risa tugged Duke’s shirttail out of his jeans and pushed it off his shoulders and arms to the floor. She ran her hands all over his wide, lightly haired chest, his skin a furnace hot enough to scorch her fingers. His flat nipples caught her attention, rushing wetness into her mouth. “Too busy doing other things.” She scraped her thumbnails over the brown discs and then soothed them with the pads of her fingers. He heaved a sharp intake of breath, and she understood that he had the same level of sensitivity to her touch as she did to his. She dipped her head down, opened her mouth over his quickly puckering flesh, and sucked the tiny, jutting nipple inside. “Ohhh, yeah…” His moan of pleasure echoed through his body and into her mouth, vibrating against her tongue. She nipped his skin between her teeth and flicked the tip of her tongue against the pinpoint of flesh, eagerly learning everything he liked. He stroked her hair and guided her across the plane of his chest. Risa happily suckled and bit him on the other side, desperately wanting to know every part of his body intimately. Risa worked the button and zipper on Duke’s jeans while he held her head prisoner to his nipples, forcing her back and forth between the twin circles of flesh to take of him again. Delving her hands inside the loosened waistband of Duke’s pants, Risa pushed the fabric down his body past his hips. His erection sprang up heavy and grazed her belly, thickly veined and searing, his slit leaving a smear of precum in its wake. She wrapped her hands around his velvet length and rubbed. Duke jerked before her, his hoarse moan music to Risa’s ears. Before she could stroke him again, he reached down and pulled her hands away from his straining cock. He backed her into the wall and hoisted her legs around his waist. She automatically wrapped her arms around his neck and braced her elbows on his shoulders. Reaching between them, Duke parted her folds. Her excitement flowed freely from her body, mixing with Duke’s. It permeated the air, surrounding them in a cocoon of their own making. He fitted his cock to her entrance, not quite nudged inside, and paused. Duke’s glittering eyes lifted to hers. His voice raw and naked, it sounded as if he brought it up from his soul. “I can’t wait.” Perspiration glistened over his body, throwing the shape of his muscles into stark relief. “I know you can take it fast and hard, you’re wet as hell. Tell me it’s okay.” She nodded, anticipation making her sex clench tight. “Take me, Duke.” God, the feel of him parked right up against her pussy, but not at all inside, clawed need through to her core. She whimpered, “Please,” and squeezed his hips with her thighs.

Duke muttered a dark oath. He speared up while forcing her down onto his cock, driving into her heat in one rough thrust. He pushed her into the wall, pinning her there with the weight of his body, holding her down on his invasion as he pushed up into her cunt again and again. Risa held on tight and took the brutal mating he needed to give: a base coupling, almost out of control. Slapping skin and animalistic sex sounds thickened the cool air around them, skin abrading skin, fingers digging into flesh deep enough to leave marks. Duke fucked Risa in a different way, open and more intimate, and she knew he did it because they had tied themselves to each other forever through the promise of marriage. Duke twisted his hand in her hair and pulled her head out of his shoulder, putting her face right in front of his, features blurred in their closeness. His breath washed over her cheeks and mouth, his forehead rested against hers, and Risa felt as if she saw him clearer than she ever had before. She reveled in his pounding of her, her breath hitching on each deep push in, keening on every pull out of her sensitized channel. She helped him move her up and down his embedded erection with the strength in her legs, dragging over his length as he wreaked havoc in her fluttering sex. His pupils flared, he cursed and growled low in his throat, and took her mouth in a deep, claiming kiss. Risa accepted the thrust of his tongue, loved that he seemed to need to invade her in another way. Her breasts shrieked with delight between them, alive with sensation. Each shove from Duke’s penis into her sex shifted his upper body, rubbing his chest hair over her aching nipples, creating wonderful friction that felt so very different from what he did to her with his mouth. She tunneled her fingers through his hair and clamped on to his scalp, tearing his mouth away from hers. Her gaze found Duke’s in the half light, cloudy like a sandstorm, open, desperate and raw. Risa touched his face, ran her fingers over his forehead and harsh cheekbones, rubbed her thumb over his sensuous mouth. His eyes slid closed, and she knew it had frightened him to let her see so much. As if in punishment, he reached between them and unearthed her clit, already swollen unbearably and coated with slick moisture. His eyes popped open, clear and in control again. He rubbed the pearl of flesh between his fingers, his eyes glued to hers as he did it. She gasped at the direct contact and rolled her hips against him, wantonly trying to get more, all at once. “Shift forward and angle down.” Duke’s voice rang out raspy, betraying the cool in his gaze. He helped her tilt her hips, and when he moved, his cock razed the underside of her nubbin of flesh. He did it again, and she sank her fingers into his shoulders, needing a place to hold on. He pinned her clit between his finger and cock, and once again started to thrust. “Harder … please, harder.” She rode him as best she could, shifted so close to his belly and chest. She stayed connected to him through his arm around her waist and her thighs clamped to his legs. “Oh God, it’s so good.” Tightness coiled in Risa’s inflamed, throbbing vagina as he shafted her channel in relentless steady strokes, forcing her close to madness. “Fuck me, Duke, fuck me…” In her mind’s eye she could see two body parts, Duke’s cock driving in and out of her pulsing pussy, roving so deep his tip kissed her core each and every time. The base image spurred Risa forward, pushed her to new,

extraordinary heights. She pressed her lips to his. “I want every part of you to belong to me.” She took his mouth with hers, kissing him carnally as he so often did to her. She flexed her hips, gobbling his cock with her cunt. “Come for me.” Exposed desire entered him through her kiss. “Drown me in your cum.” Duke gritted and then bared his teeth. “Christ.” He knifed up into Risa, tucking deeper inside than he had ever gone before. “I have never known anyone like you.” “And you never will.” She bore down on his penis, grinding her mound into his pubes. “You never will.” His eyes flashed, he grazed his thumb over the tip of her clit, and just like that, no second to prepare, Risa shattered into a thousand flying pieces. She screamed as her pussy clamped down on Duke’s erection, milking his member in a tight, never-ending fist as she came. “Ahh… Yes!” Duke shoved her against the wall with all of his strength, crushing her into his embrace. “Ohh fuck, you’re making me come.” His entire body stilled, shuddered. A second later, he kick-started back to life. He pumped his hips and soaked her pussy with wet heat, shooting hot spunk deep inside her body as his orgasm took final, complete control. In the aftermath, Duke’s mouth hung open over hers, his breathing still harsh and erratic. Slowly, he gave her a few inches of space to breathe and lowered her legs to the floor. His penis slipped free of her hold, and they became two entities once again. Duke pulled his pants back up around his waist, but other than that, Risa didn’t give him a chance to retreat. She linked her hand in his and brought it to her lips. His almost wild gaze connected to hers, and for the first time with her, his eyes showed a complete window to his soul. Her heart stopped, but she forced a serene smile, betraying none of the open love he must not realize blazed in his eyes. He loved her. Right here, standing half-naked in her chilly, poorly lit foyer, Duke gave his secret away. Risa grabbed his weapons belt off the chair and draped it over her shoulder. Everything else could remain until the morning. “Come on.” She led him to the stairs, keeping everything on a nice, even keel. “You wore me out.” She winked and teased. She had no intentions of scaring him off with deep, serious talk right now. “Let’s go to bed.” Silently, Duke followed. **** Risa climbed the platform to the chute and hoisted herself over the metal bars to the back of the bull. She braced her boots on the bars of the chute while she positioned her bull rope around Firecracker’s torso. It was Sunday night and she had made it to the final round, but she had never seen Firecracker’s work in person, and he had never had a rider cover him in sixteen outs. It couldn’t matter to Risa, just as it didn’t to any other rider drawing an unknown bull. Stay on for eight seconds and do it looking as pretty as you can. She had no task other than that. The enormous, rust-colored animal banged his body into the gates, slamming Risa forward, her head shooting for the sliding metal door. With confidence, a strong hand yanked her back to safety. Jake, acting for his stock company, averted disaster, his job in that position on the chute to keep the rider safe. Another cowboy put his boot to the bull’s shoulder and pushed his head to face the ring, holding it there until the animal complied and settled. It didn’t hurt the bull any

more than the dull spurs the riders used; a bull’s hide had so much thickness he didn’t feel the touch as anything more than a mild pressure on his body. Jake adjusted his hold on Risa’s vest and leaned down close to her ear so that Risa could hear him over the crowd. “You all right?” “Yeah, fine.” Risa didn’t nod, she didn’t want the gatekeeper to mistake the gesture for her “go” signal. “Thanks for the quick reflexes.” She took the tail of her bull rope from yet a different cowboy and started readying herself again. Through the process, each task became crucial, from the placement of the handhold on the bull’s back to the tightness of the rope a cowboy cinched around the animal so she could wrap it in her hand; focus meant everything in bull riding. That, along with an ability not to fight the bull’s bucking and spinning, but rather adjust quickly and move with him, turned some men in this sport into legends. All tasks complete, her gloved hand secure around the hold and rope, Risa took her boots off the chute and slid forward on Firecracker’s massive back. His powerful muscles rippled between her legs, his breath heaving with enough strength to feel the rise and fall beneath her body. Excitement coursed through the animal, infecting the rider to perform at his level. Getting down on top of the animal, she positioned her crotch almost over the handhold and made the final shifts in her legs and hips for her ride. The bull, full of life and fire under her, snorted to share his readiness to perform his task. The rush of joy always filled Risa in this exact moment, reminding her why she loved this sport so much. It made her feel alive. Risa made eye contact with the rodeo official. Squeezing her legs, she nodded her head and gave the go ahead for her ride. The gate swung open, and Firecracker started bucking from barely one step outside the chute. Dangerously close to the railing, Risa whipped her arm up and back so as not to disqualify herself by hitting the other chute gates. Her arm swung back and saved her from that, but the bull faded and spun away from her hand at the same time. The sudden change in direction, and momentum from moving her free arm out of position, threw Risa forward over the bull’s neck, the jerking motion too strong for her to readjust her hips and seat. The bull changed direction on a dime, before Risa could get free of her hold. Firecracker bucked and twisted her over his head, snapping her arm with white-hot, searing pain as he tossed her to the other side of his body, her hand still caught up in her rope. She dragged beside the bull as he turned into her, bumping her side and arm with his head as he tried to get her off his body. Adrenaline coursed through Risa’s blood, covering her in a cold sweat under her clothes. She could see and hear the bullfighters trying to help her get free, but she focused solely on keeping her legs moving in a skipping run when her feet occasionally hit the ground, trying desperately not to slide under Firecracker’s body and get trampled by his hooves. Her arm numb from being ripped around, Risa didn’t feel it when her hand finally slipped free of her rope. Up until then she had that hold to help her keep upright, but in a blink that one tether disappeared and she collapsed to the ground. She scrambled and stumbled, trying to stand so she could run. Her right arm no use at all, she couldn’t push off the ground to get to her feet to move. “Ahh!” A hoof clipped high on Risa’s calf, digging through her jeans and the edge of her boot into the meat of her muscle, tearing her flesh. The bull kicked her thigh and rolled her half over before miraculously skip-hopping over her body without taking out

her spine or skull. Risa dug deep and found a power that pushed her to her knees, survival a motivator that superseded lacerations, dislocations, blood or pain. Risa got a couple of steps in under her own power, the safety of the fencing the only goal in sight. Fire lanced through her leg, and she faltered. God, she had to get to the fence before the bull got her again. Protection suddenly swooped in and covered Risa from behind, practically lifting her off her feet. One of the bullfighters had hold of her and ushered her to the side of the ring. Firecracker no longer in the ring, the bullfighter helped her get her headgear off with one hand and kept an arm around her waist with the other. “Did he get you in the head?” the man asked. He helped her to the nearest gate where she could get out of the ring. “No.” Risa shook her head. “Just my arm and leg.” Nausea threw Risa’s balance off, making her stumble. The bullfighter transferred Risa to a rodeo official, his own job not yet done for the day. Risa breathed heavily, leaned into the official, and kept her legs moving, one slow step at a time. Conscious of the crowd, and of her brother and Caleb somewhere in the building, she determined in her gut that she would not drop in front of these people. The event had too many children present that she had likely terrified enough already by taking the fall in the first place. They didn’t need to see her pass out in the aftermath. She would never do that to her small legion of devoted fans. Risa handed her head protection to another official walking at her side, lifted her hand, and waved to the crowd. They cheered, loving someone who had the grit to get up after taking a beating from a rank bull. This was part of bull riding, Risa understood that, and didn’t let a single person see the hurt raging in her arm that hung limp from her shoulder, or the flayed open gash flowing blood into a puddle in her boot. She kept a tight smile plastered to her face all the way through to the medical facility set up on site. Only when the doctor snapped her dislocated shoulder back in place did Risa’s world finally fade to black. **** Duke stood in line with Cade at the grocery store, each of them stocked with deli sandwiches, various single serving snacks, and lots, and lots of caffeine. Each of them would take a watch for their thief at a house on the south side, but damn it if Duke didn’t have serious doubts about utilizing their time this way. The smallest things aroused suspicion in him these days, and he knew it happened because he wanted this guy caught yesterday. No one in town had complained too loudly yet, but the pressure weighed on him, knowing if this thief acted again, confidence in him would start to wane. From there on, the town would take apart and examine every little piece of his life and the station’s business six ways from Tuesday until the scrutiny became too much to tolerate. That put Duke one short step away from the town removing him from his position as sheriff. He didn’t want to think about finding another position in law enforcement somewhere else. He loved his work and didn’t want to leave Quinten or change jobs now. Christ, he had a fiancée to consider now in everything he did. Risa. Sweet, sexy, young Risa Forrester. Heat coursed through Duke’s blood just thinking about her. He hadn’t seen her for three days and he missed sharing her bed. He missed a hell of a lot more than that, but if he started thinking too hard on her right now he’d have a stiff prick pushing against his jeans in two minutes flat. He wanted her, though, he couldn’t deny it.

The engagement ring he’d ordered in Bozeman yesterday damn near perfectly proved that. Fucking A, Duke still couldn’t believe he’d asked Risa to marry him. Perspiration dotted his upper lip, reminding him that he had. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to marry her, or that he regretted the impulse, but it couldn’t help churning up his past, one he’d vowed to leave buried. With determination, he held it back. Lately, though, every time he thought of Risa, thoughts of his first marriage soon followed. Duke had dived headfirst into his relationship with Brenda Bennett nearly twenty years ago, blissfully blind to her alcohol abuse. Now, he knew he hadn’t wanted to see it, and that he had no one to blame but himself for allowing Brenda to turn him into a sucker. He’d wanted the damn family he’d never had for himself too much to see anything but a lovely, wild woman, and a kind, smart kid. By the time Brenda’s drinking threatened what he wanted, he had no power to hold back. Being a young cop had made him arrogantly confident that he could save her and still have everything he wanted with her and Ren. Marriage came shortly after rehab, too shortly, and adopting Ren followed quickly after that. He could say one thing with confidence: he never regretted taking responsibility for Ren. Upon meeting that kid Duke had discovered something about himself that he’d never known before: he wanted to be a father. The turbulence of his relationship with Brenda never slowed down in their five years of marriage. First the alcohol abuse, then the food addictions. By the time she succumbed to drugs and showed no interest in saving herself, Duke had finally had enough. Brenda’s erratic behavior tore Ren apart a little more every day, and by then Duke had discovered that when it came to choosing, he wanted Ren a hell of a lot more than he wanted Brenda. Brenda had, sadly, made gaining custody of Ren a simple choice for the judge. She had not cared enough to fight for her son in court. Duke mainly battled Ren’s grandparents for the boy. They were kindly people, but too deep in denial about the devastating effects of their daughter’s behavior on their grandson to entrust them with raising Ren. In the end, the court awarded Duke full custody. Not long after that they packed their bags and started a new life in Quinten, Montana. Now he’d gone and started up something he’d sworn never to repeat. As much as he told himself his relationship with Risa didn’t bear any resemblance to his marriage, that the two women couldn’t be more different, he couldn’t deny that the out of control feelings Risa stirred up in him made him feel exactly as he had during that first year with Brenda. Off-kilter and a little drunk, his thoughts consumed by her, wanting to do anything and everything to tie her to him forever. He never mistook Risa for his ex, but at the same time it terrified him that he had slipped back into being that willfully blind twenty-five year old man of his youth. Duke never wanted to be that guy again. Sweat broke out on his brow just as heavily as it did on his upper lip. “Duke? Duke?” Fingers waved in front of Duke’s eyes, snapping him out of his thoughts. Cade had already paid for his food and waited for Duke to put his stuff down on the counter and do the same. Curiosity lightened his dark eyes. “Sorry.” Duke averted his gaze. “Just thinking.” “About our guy?” Cade assumed. “You’re flushed, and you have a hell of scowl on your face.” “He is pissing me off,” Duke murmured, grateful for the reprieve from Cade’s kind,

but pushy concern. A kid in a Shearling-collar denim jacket moved across Duke’s line of sight to the exit, catching his attention. He’d seen the kid wandering in the chip aisle, and then again in the freezer section. A teenager near the snack foods didn’t rouse his suspicions too much, but then spotting him again by the cooler cases, without a parent loitering nearby asking him to grab things, made Duke sit up and take notice. He’d watched, but the kid had made no suspicious moves, didn’t dart his eyes around as if on the lookout, so Duke let it go. Phantoms popped up everywhere in Duke’s mind these days, but this time the hairs on the back of his neck rose to attention too, flickering warning bells in his mind. He gestured to Cade as he grabbed his bag off the counter. “You know that kid?” Cade followed Duke’s direction to the young man making his way out of the store, empty handed. “Doesn’t look familiar,” Cade answered. “Then again, Quinten is big enough that I don’t recognize everyone. With the surrounding ranches doing so well and bringing in men who want families close by, the town gets bigger every day. He looks old enough to have work as a cowboy. Why?” “Didn’t buy anything.” Duke couldn’t do anything because he hadn’t seen the kid steal something outright. He could be loitering, or even checking prices on something for a parent. Still, the tingling in Duke’s neck shivered down his spine, not letting go. “Maybe we should take a look…” Duke’s phone trilled to life on his belt, half scaring the shit right out of him. “Damn it.” He flipped it open and put it to his ear. “Sheriff Boone here.” “Duke, thank God you picked up.” Duke immediately recognized Caleb Hawkins’s voice. “You need to get down to Wyoming as soon as possible.” Cold radiated from Duke’s spine to every corner of his body. The grocery bag fell out of his hand and spilled its contents to the floor. “What is it?” Fear grabbed Duke’s throat and he could hardly speak. “What happened to her?” It could only be Risa. Nothing else could reach him across a state line with awareness such as this. “What’s wrong?” “She got hung up and had a pretty nasty go. They’re taking her to the hospital right now.” The chill turned to ice in Duke’s veins. Goddamnit, he could not lose her. “Tell me where.” Everything else forgotten, Duke ran for his truck. “I’m on my way.”

Chapter Eighteen Impatience had Duke clenching his fists at his sides as the hospital elevator took its goddamned sweet time ascending, doors opening on each floor, often to empty passages. Duke just barely resisted the urge to stare down the five other people in the confined space with him, or to show his badge and demand to know who in the hell thought it would be cute to push all the buttons in a fucking hospital elevator. Who in the hell had time to play around in a place like this? Logic told him the hospital might have rigged the lift this way, or more likely that it glitched for some ridiculous mechanical reason, but Duke didn’t want to feel reason right now, he wanted to hit something. Or, someone. Damn it, Risa had to be okay. Finally, the doors slid open to the sixth floor. Duke got out and ran down the hall to room 616, careless of the rules. He pushed inside, his heart skidding to a stop at the sight before him. His Risa, eyes closed, an angry bruise developing on her jaw, her arm in a sling. She had her foot elevated on two pillows and her calf wrapped from ankle to knee in thick gauze. “Jesus Christ.” Duke rushed to her side and ran his hand over her soft hair. Pressing a kiss to her forehead, he lifted his gaze to Luke and Caleb. “Please tell me she’s zoned out on painkillers and not still unconscious.” “I hardly closed my eyes for a minute,” Risa’s raspy voice grumbled, ripping Duke’s gaze off the men and down to her. Hazy green eyes looked up at him, and Duke started breathing again. “Just resting.” Caleb chuckled. “Then, or now?” Duke glared. Goddamned bastard, making jokes. Caleb shot right to the top of Duke’s list of people he wanted to pop one in the mouth. Caleb had seduced Risa into wanting to ride bulls in the first place, with all his war stories of his exciting few years on the circuit. Someone ought to string the man up for it. Duke growled. Risa reached across her body and touched his forearm with her good hand. “It’s all right.” She squeezed his arm, her touch not nearly as strong as Duke had become accustomed to with her. Fear of deeper, hidden injuries twisted his gut. “I look worse than I feel,” she said. “Caleb shouldn’t have scared you like that.” She did a little glaring of her own at the man. “Guys have gotten hung up for less time and ended up a lot worse off than me.” Leaning against the windowsill, Luke shook his head and rubbed his face. “Not really the best thing to say right now, sis.” Risa’s gaze darted from Luke to Duke. “Of course,” she added quickly, “bulls have stomped guys a lot worse than I suffered, and they’re back on the tour within two weeks, sometimes less. Bull riders heal fast; it’s just the way we’re built.” Duke pulled his hand away from Risa’s soft hold. Christ, he needed to sit down before he fell down. He had driven for hours, all the while horrific visions of Risa irreversibly injured looping in his head, pushing him to places of raw terror he had not lived anywhere even close to since the last days of his marriage. “When can I take you home?” Duke’s throat closed up tight, and the words scratched

his esophagus as they came out. “Tomorrow,” Risa answered. “They want to keep me overnight for observation because of the concussion.” Duke closed his eyes as a fist clamped on his heart. Goddamnit. The information this woman shared so casually, as if it weren’t potentially a matter of her life or death, stoked to life the first fires of anger in his belly. He opened his eyes and settled his gaze on Luke and Caleb. “Can you give us a few minutes please?” He focused on Luke, not only because of his blood connection to Risa, but because he shared a commitment with Cain similar to Duke’s with Risa. Without words, he very likely understood how Duke felt right now. “I’d like to spend some time alone with Risa.” Caleb went for the door, but Luke turned his attention to his sister. “Go.” Risa shooed him with her one good arm. “It’s late. I told you guys over an hour ago to go to the motel and get some sleep. I’m a big girl. I can sleep in a hospital by myself. I’ll be fine.” Luke moved to the bed and pecked his sister on the cheek. “We’ll be back bright and early in the morning.” Luke looked across the bed at Duke, finally dipping his head. “See you at the motel. You can use Risa’s bed.” Duke nodded. “See you in a bit.” With Caleb and Luke gone, Duke pulled the one chair in the room to the side of Risa’s bed. He took her free hand and brought it to his lips, held it to his cheek. She caressed his face, soothing him, and the weakened dam within started to leak. He took a heavy breath in. “Are you really okay?” Risa smoothed the furrow between Duke’s brows. “I promise you that I am. They reset the dislocated shoulder at the arena.” Her lips turned up at the corner. “That’s what made me faint, not the concussion. I’ve heard that cracking sound before”—she shivered…”but it’s different when you hear it and know it’s your own bone snapping back into joint.” “You were lucky.” She shook her head. “Not really. This is a pretty common bull riding injury. In hindsight, it actually kind of surprises me that I went this long without popping mine out.” “I’m talking about with everything, damn it.” Duke pulled out of her touch and rose to his feet. Burrowing his fingers into his hair, he paced, moving with purposeful steps as frustration, fear, and burgeoning anger swirled into one great emotion that sat too big in his body to contain. He could not live like this, with this level of uncertainty. It would put him in a grave within a year. “I will not let you bury your head in the sand anymore, Risa.” He turned, facing her, as everything inside him rose and bubbled over the surface of his cool, letting every damn insecurity slip free. “You have got to see now that this sport is too dangerous. The time has come for you to stop.” * A block of ice dripped rivers of freezing water down Risa’s spine. Her fingers stilled in the covers as she met Duke’s flat, hard gaze. “What are you saying?” Duke swooped in and planted his big hand beside her head. His breath rushed hot and heavy over her skin as he mapped her face with his stare. “I’m saying that I can see

the risks clearly again. I always knew I hated that you did this, but I let myself be blinded when I got caught up in you. No more, Risa, my eyes are wide open again, and the bull riding ends right now.” Duke’s words churned bile in Risa’s stomach, and she thought she would throw up. “Excuse me?” She could hardly hear her own voice. “I know I didn’t hear you right. Are you ordering me to quit?” “Order is a strong word.” Duke pushed off the bed and linked his fingers behind his neck, his jaw clenching. “I’m pointing out that you have a full life and that you don’t have to keep putting yourself at deliberate risk. I won’t stand by quietly any longer while you participate in this dangerous sport.” Fire burned in Risa, but she forced it down, searching for reason under Duke’s autocratic behavior. “Listen, I know I scared you, but I really am fine. I’ll be back on a bull in less than a month. The first time I cover the ride you’ll get excited again and forget all about this…” “I won’t ever forget that call I got from Caleb telling me you’d been taken to a hospital. A man doesn’t forget getting a call like that about his fiancée. I don’t ever want to get one again.” He turned a deadly serious face up to her. “I won’t ever get one again, Risa. I. Will. Not.” The embers crackling and sparking inside Risa’s heart started to burn pieces of her soul away, leaving only ash. “Do you mean to tell me we can’t get married unless I give up riding bulls?” Duke flinched and looked away for a moment, then came back to her, his eyes hard once again. “You give it up and we don’t have a problem anymore.” Risa reeled from the blow. She grabbed her chest and tried to rub the sharp streak of pain away. “I can’t believe you’re saying this.” “I can’t believe you actually think I’ll sit idly by and watch my wife take chances with her life every other weekend.” Anger exploded within Risa, quickly overriding the betrayal and hurt. “I haven’t put your ring on my finger yet,” she snapped sarcastically. “And I’m sorry, I didn’t realize marriage came with ownership papers for the other person.” “It damn well comes with an obligation to keep the other person out of harm’s way!” “Oh, okay.” Risa tapped her finger to her cheek. “Then when we get married I’d like for you to turn over the job of sheriff to someone else. You have chosen a dangerous career choice too, and I often live with fear that something terrible will happen to you while you’re at work. I didn’t realize I could just order you to give it up. I’d like to do that right now, please.” “Damn it, it’s not the same thing and you know it. I’ve been in law enforcement for over twenty years, and I’ve never even come close to taking a bullet.” No goddamned way. Risa had no interest in logic right now, not while Duke behaved so outrageously. “I also refuse to let you take an office job,” she went on without missing a beat. “People get all crazy these days, and you hear too many stories about disgruntled workers shooting up office buildings full of innocent coworkers. You can forget about being a cowboy too. I don’t want to risk you falling off a horse and hitting your head, could be fatal. I need you to find something to do from home, because I don’t ever want you leaving the farmhouse again. When can I expect you to hand in your resignation?” Duke backed away from the bed, his arms lifted in surrender. “Forget it. I can’t talk

to you while you’re being like this.” “And I can’t listen to you while you’re being such a hypocrite,” Risa shot back, her voice sharp. “I never lied to you about the things I love doing and how I intended to live my life. I never once gave you the impression that I would change who I am in order to have a relationship with you. You knew who you took to bed, Duke, and you knew what I did for a living when you proposed to me too.” “And you knew it would lead exactly where it did the second I got between your legs, little girl,” Duke bit off. “You know who I am, you’ve watched me for a lot of years. Once we had sex you knew the proposal wouldn’t be far behind.” Everything inside Risa went very, very still. “You don’t mean that,” she whispered. “I know you feel more for me than just some old fashioned sense of propriety. You wouldn’t be so upset about what happened to me today if that were the only reason.” “I do care about you,” Duke admitted, his voice thick. “Which gives me even more right to tell you what I think about what you’re doing. Especially when I think it’s a reckless, bad decision that’s going to get you killed.” “Expressing your fears is one thing—and believe me, I know what I do can be scary for the person who has to watch.” Wetness splashed on Risa’s cheek. She hadn’t realized she’d started crying. Angrily, she swatted it away. She would never let anyone accuse her of manipulating Duke to his knees with her tears. “Taking what I feel for you and using it as a way to control what I do with my life is something very, very different. You know I’ve loved you forever, and you know my biggest, not-so-secret dream is to one day be your wife. But I will not sell my soul to make that dream come true. Not even for you.” The granite of old resurfaced and hardened Duke’s features, turning his eyes to cold chips of yellow diamonds. “Then you’ve made your decision. You want the bulls.” Risa shook her head and stuffed down the swelling ache that crushed her harder than any fall from a bull. “I made no decision, Duke, don’t you dare put this on me.” The pain of speaking these horrible words pressed on Risa, choking her, but she would get it said. “You want complete control, and there’s no such thing in a partnership, at least not with me.” Duke flinched. “Then I guess this is over”—he backed away from her to the door…”because I will not watch you die.” He was so scared, Risa could hear it under the ultimatum, but she could not give in to this big, overwhelming personality trait in him, not unless she planned on living under his thumb for the rest of their lives. She loved him, and she wanted him desperately, but she would be strong enough for the both of them right now and not cave in to his demands. “Find me when you’re ready to talk about what’s really going on here,” she whispered, her heart bleeding, cut up into a million little pieces at this terrible goodbye. His love drove his actions, but until he could even just admit that he loved her in the first place, as a start, he had no hope of ever learning to live with her as a true equal in any kind of relationship, whether as friends, dating, or husband and wife. “Call me any time, any place, and I’ll be there for you in a heartbeat. I don’t want us to end. You’re the one walking away.” Duke paled, but just as quickly, he clenched his hands into fists at his sides and stiffened his spine. He pinned her to the bed with the depth of his stare, forcing it inside her, stroking her very soul. Then he said, “Until you can give up riding, there’s nothing more to say.” He doused

the one little flame of hope still living inside Risa’s heart. Without another word, he left. Stiff as a board in bed, broken in spirit more in the last few minutes than any bad ride, she lasted all of ten seconds before the mask slipped away and shattered. All alone in the cold, unwelcoming hospital room, tough as nails Risa Forrester, crumbled.

Chapter Nineteen “I don’t want to talk about it, Luke,” Risa said for the hundredth time. She pressed the side of her head into the warm glass of the backseat window, staring out at the swiftly moving ranching landscapes on their drive back to Quinten. “It’s not your business.” Luke twisted from the front seat of the double cab truck, his pale eyes a touching combination of sympathy and protective ire. “You can’t tell me that you’re not getting married anymore and then refuse to discuss what happened. When Caleb and I left last night, I could see how much your accident wrecked Duke. He had the same look in his eyes Cain did the day MacLesten shot me. And then wham”—Luke snapped his fingers…”less than ten hours later Duke is gone, and then, whether you’ll admit it or not, your face is all puffy from crying. God, sis…” Empathy laced Luke’s voice. “What in the hell went down last night?” “I don’t want to discuss this with you, or anyone else.” Risa looked down at her lap and pulled at a string hanging from her sweater cuff. Her heart would not surrender Duke, even if he had let go of her. “It’s between me and Duke, and we’ll handle it ourselves.” She connected with her brother’s pointed stare. “I’m not saying anything else about it. Drop it before you start pissing me off.” “Let it go, man.” Caleb sent Luke a warning glance from the corner of his eye. “Your sister is an adult, let them work it out for themselves. You wouldn’t like it if I came butting in every time you and Cain had a fight, would you? Show Risa the same respect for her relationship with Duke.” Luke shook his head and shot a murderous stare at Caleb, but he did turn back around in his seat. Risa heard him mutter under his breath, “That piece of advice coming from one of the biggest buttinskies I know. How rich.” “I’m a font of fantastic advice.” Caleb took his eyes off the road for a second and winked at Risa. “Never said I knew how to take it myself.” A hint of a smile cracked Risa’s face. Her lip didn’t creep up more than a millimeter, but it was the first hint of involuntary action that made her believe she might get through this heavy, strange grief that weighed down on her trampled heart. Last night Duke had delivered a shocking pain that rivaled the hurt she had first felt upon losing Nate. The sucking, painful hole in her middle felt very much like living through the death of a loved one. Risa sobered quickly. Duke hadn’t died. She didn’t want to think about him dying. Such a loss would irreversibly damage her soul. She would never be the same with Duke permanently gone from her life. She understood that on a bone deep level in the same way she accepted and knew how to breathe. She jerked upright from her slouch as she realized that Duke must have experienced this same quickly-engulfing fear last night. The very thought of losing her, really losing her, must have hit him in exactly the same way. No, it had been worse for Duke, because she had actually suffered a real injury. She’d given him a visual to go with the imagined nightmare. God, the stoic man’s autocratic behavior settled on Risa and made complete sense in a way she hadn’t truly understood last night. Risa slumped back down as she realized her problem remained the same: how did

she get Duke to open up and move past his fears? Because as much as she loved him, she would not succumb to her need for him and give up riding bulls. **** Duke climbed out of the sheriff’s SUV, slammed the door, and glanced across the hood at Cade. “We must have the safest damn neighborhoods on the planet,” he bitched, picking up the conversation right from where it had left off inside the truck. “Yet we can’t catch one little pissant petty thief. We’ve both worked in big city departments before we came here, so you tell me how we’re being outsmarted by one damn faceless kid.” “You can ask the question a thousand times,” Cade answered. “But until we catch him all we’re doing is speculating on who he is and making educated guesses about motives. You know that as well as I do.” Duke did know that. He had a very good reason for rambling and complaining during pretty much the whole damn ride from town to Hawkins Ranch though: he would cross paths with Risa out here, and that made him nervous as hell. Two weeks had passed since her fall and their fight, and they hadn’t seen each other or talked since. Well, that wasn’t technically true. Duke had not come home immediately after his and Risa’s break up, as she surely believed. He had hung around in the shadows, lurking until the doctors discharged her from the hospital. Only when he saw her get up from the wheelchair and use a cane to get to Caleb’s truck had Duke felt the tight valve of fear inside him release. If the doctors let her go home then she must not have any internal injuries, as he had feared. In addition, he had seen her again three days ago when leaving work. He’d spotted her chatting with Sarah right outside the diner. Duke had ducked back into the station before Risa could spot him, but couldn’t completely pull himself away from the door. From his place of hiding, he ached as he watched Risa laugh at something Sarah said. When she gave Sarah a one-armed hug before parting ways, jealousy gnawed at Duke’s gut. He wanted her throwing her arms around him, as she had so easily done on the day he’d asked her to marry him. Christ, he wanted to hold her again. He missed her smile and the animated way she talked about her day. At night, he rolled over in bed, reaching out to tuck her against his chest only to find cool sheets instead of a warm woman. More than that, every time frustration about this case reached a pinnacle point for him, he wanted to pick up the phone and call her, knowing that simply hearing her voice would settle him down and give him perspective once again. A hundred times in the last fifteen days Duke had considered backing down and begging for another chance. Then that call from Caleb played in his mind. He relived the terror he’d created for himself of one day finding Risa stomped to a bloody pulp by a two thousand pound beast, her body broken and limp, dead before anyone could get close enough to pull her to safety. He would never survive that. Barely two months of intimacy between them, and he already knew that losing her would kill him. That made him a selfish bastard and he knew it, but right now he lived on the hope that her love for him would eventually overtake her desire to ride bulls, and that she would give it up and come back to him.

He prayed the separation from her while he waited for her to come to her senses didn’t do him in first. Duke turned to Cade, pushing everything that didn’t pertain to work deep down where it couldn’t interfere with the job. “All right,” he said grimly, “we don’t have a choice, but let’s still try to do this as discreetly as possible.” Cade nodded, his face an equally unreadable hard mask. They took the steps up to the main house, but before they could knock, Caleb opened the front door and stepped outside. They all shook hands, and Caleb said, “I made the call to bring him in just after I talked to you. I had him quite a ways out in the farthest grazing pasture, so it’ll be a little bit before he gets back.” Widening his stance, Caleb crossed his arms against his chest and turned impatient eyes onto Duke. “Are you sure you can’t talk this girl’s parents down? I mean, hell, I certainly don’t think men should be sleeping with little girls, I’d be the first one in line to string a guy like that up from his gonads. That’s not what we have here. Travis is barely eighteen years old, and I won’t swear to it, but I think Paige Jennings is at least sixteen. There’s nobody being violated or taken advantage of in this situation, they’re both kids. As for Travis, he’s a good one at that.” “No,” Duke answered, “Paige won’t be sixteen for another month, and that makes the charge against Travis one of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor at the least, and statutory rape at the most.” “They’re barely two years apart in age and they’re happily dating,” Caleb argued. “How can they label this kid a rapist?” “I have to do my job, Caleb,” Duke said. “If the girl’s parents insist on pressing charges then I have to arrest him. I asked them to reconsider and not drag their daughter through this kind of mess, but they refuse. Paige doesn’t want it, she made a big scene and accused her parents of using this as a blackmail tool, but it’s not up to her either. I have to make the arrest. The DA in Bozeman will decide whether or not to prosecute.” “Wait a minute, wait a minute.” Caleb unfolded his arms and raised them out in front of him. “What kind of blackmail? I pay my people well for the job they do, but Travis hasn’t yet worked for me for six months. He doesn’t have any money. They can’t want to trap him for his cash.” “According to Paige, someone caught her and Travis having sex, and her parents are humiliated. They want to believe their daughter is a victim and that Travis seduced her. They want Travis to make it right and marry her, but he refuses.” Caleb shook his head. “Antiquated,” he conceded, “but all right. I guess if I had a daughter I could see their knee-jerk reaction. But to bring about statutory rape charges in order to get the boy to comply…” He winced. “I can’t get down with that. Especially when it’s my employee and I know he has no intentions of hurting Paige.” “The two of them actually seem to have a plan,” Cade offered to the conversation. “It just doesn’t fit in with what the girl’s parents want.” “How’s that?” Caleb asked. “I talked to Paige while Duke dealt with the parents,” Cade said. “She says she and Travis have already talked about getting married. She laid out a pretty detailed five-year plan that impressed the hell out of me considering that a couple of teenagers created it. If she stayed living at home while Travis kept living out here at the bunkhouse, and they both worked, she showed me how they’d eventually have enough money to move to

Bozeman. She wants to go to MSU part time and work, and Travis could sign on with another outfit nearby. What they’re doing right now is trying to save all their money so they can afford to buy a small home when they move. At the end of that five-year plan is when they intend to get married.” Cade shrugged his wide shoulders. “I think she wanted to convince me, hoping I could make her parents understand on her behalf. Apparently, Travis tried to tell all of this to Paige’s parents when he said he wouldn’t marry Paige right away, but they didn’t want to hear it.” “You’d think any parent would love hearing something like that these days,” Caleb said. “A couple of kids not rushing into anything and living to regret it. Sounds like a reason to show pride and brag to me.” “Yeah, but you’re not the parents,” Duke shared. “All they can think about right now is other parents and the community at large judging them for not raising a ‘good girl.’ “ Duke put his fingers up in quotes. “It does happen, they’re not entirely paranoid. When I go out with Ren people sometimes give me a funny look, and I know they’re thinking, ‘where did he go wrong in raising a son who turned out to be gay.’” “Nowhere,” Risa spoke softly from behind Duke, sending shivers of awareness up his spine. He spun around, his heart catching at the sight of her standing at the bottom of the porch steps. A straw cowboy hat rode low on her forehead, her strawberry hair hung loose down her back and over her shoulders from under the brim. Jeans, boots, and a fitted green button-down shirt, befitting the unusual warmth of the afternoon, completed her look. She smiled, and Duke barely processed Luke and Cain standing to her left. “You didn’t go wrong anywhere,” she said. “You raised a good boy into a strong man, and that’s about the best any parent can hope to do. Am I right?” Duke cleared his throat. “Right.” Christ, the image of her heavy with his child slammed through him, rocking him back. As the only parent in the group, no one else could answer her question definitively, but Jesus, he wanted her to know what it felt like too—if she let him be the other half of what created that child. Duke swallowed thickly and tried to settle the need choking him right where he stood. “Hi.” She slid her hands into her front pockets. “Hi.” Something about Risa looked wrong, and for an uncomfortable beat Duke scrutinized her from top to bottom. Suddenly, it came to him in a flash. He tore down the steps until he stood with only three feet between them. “Where’s your sling?” She still had her shoulder harness on three days ago. “Why aren’t you protecting your arm?” “The doctor gave me permission to take it off today,” Risa answered. “I have my physical therapy exercises to do, but I don’t have to wear the sling anymore.” She pulled her hand out of her pocket and rolled her arm in a modified arc. She raised one beautiful brow. “I told you bull riders heal quickly. Ranch hands too. Not a lot of time to take off from the job around here.” Duke swung his attention to Caleb. “I know you don’t have her back on your damn bulls already, Hawkins.” “Hey.” Luke stepped in between his sister and Duke. His pale eyes looked like the sky on the worst, darkest winter day. “You don’t get to question her health or her job anymore. You gave up that right when you walked away from her.”

“I didn’t walk away from her, damn it,” Duke hissed. He towered over Luke’s decent six-foot frame. “I’m trying to prolong the natural span of her life, which you, for some godforsaken reason, seem unwill…” Luke swung fast, jamming the rest of Duke’s statement back down his throat with a fist to his jaw. Duke reeled, and Cain swooped in on Luke. He pulled Luke away before he could throw another hit. Cade grabbed Duke, clearly unsure whether or not his boss would punch back. Duke shrugged Cade’s hold off and rubbed at his jaw. Cain kept his arms around Luke’s waist and shoulders. Luke’s entire body strained against the hold, his finger pointing at Duke. “Don’t you dare judge how I protect my sister. Especially since I tried so damn hard to protect her from you, and look what you went and did to her. You stepped all over her heart worse than any animal could. You’re the one responsible for her pain right now, not some damn dislocated shoulder or cut up calf.” “Actually”—Risa glared from one man to the other, equally…”you’re both responsible for my biggest pain right now. That would be the giant one in my ass. So thank you so much, to the both of you.” She bowed and curtseyed sarcastically. “I swear you’d think I needed instructions on how to breathe properly if I didn’t have a bunch of big strong men in my life telling me the best way to do it. “I swear to the heavens that on days like today I wish God had only created women.” She rolled her eyes and pushed past Duke to the porch. “It would rid us of all this damn dick swinging, if nothing else. “Caleb.” She smiled sweetly at the man, eliciting a low growl from Duke. “Since you’re the only man here who’s actually paying me for the privilege of telling me what to do, I wanted to let you know that I finished organizing the office down in the barn. What would you like me to do next?” Caleb nodded his head at the house behind him. “Tasha has a mountain of data for you to enter into the computer. And don’t hit me for saying this”—he threw up his arms in front of his face…”but please take breaks if your hand starts to feel numb. Okay?” “See?” Risa turned to Duke and Luke. “It’s not so hard to show concern and treat me like an adult at the same time. I recommend you both take a few lessons before we talk again.” She walked to the big, ostentatious front door without another word. Duke watched the strong, svelte lines of her back as she moved, her ass filling her jeans to mouthwatering perfection. Then he got to the little hitch in her step that she couldn’t quite hide. She looked every inch a natural, beautiful woman, but the limp punched him in the stomach, reminding him of her fallibility and that she hadn’t nearly healed from her fall. Christ, he wanted her with a depth he had never experienced for any woman in his life. A stronger, protective voice in his head screamed that he wanted her alive more. He clenched his fists, forcing himself not to chase her down and kiss her hard enough and deep enough to make her come just with his mouth. Cade cleared his throat noisily, jerking Duke away from his base thoughts. He turned around and scanned the small group of men, his face heating. He realized they had all read every last desire filling his mind as he’d watched Risa go inside the house. Fire burned in Luke’s eyes, turning his gaze to mercury. He gave Duke a hard, dismissive glance, and lifted his gaze to Caleb. “We’re going to take Midnight Run home

with us.” He spoke of one the horses stabled in Caleb’s barn. “We’ll see if we can figure out why he’s biting and throwing, hopefully settle that skittishness in him and get him retrained.” Caleb nodded. “I appreciate it. Keep me updated.” Shifting his focus over Luke and Cain’s shoulders, Caleb’s blue gaze darkened to midnight. A rider approached over a gently sloping hill. “Guys”—Caleb’s attention drifted to Cain and Luke for just a second…”I’m gonna ask you to go deal with Midnight Run right now and give us some privacy. I’ll talk to you later. Okay?” Caleb exchanged a knowing, brotherly look with Cain. Cain nodded, linked his hand in Luke’s, and tugged his husband in the direction of the barn. Helplessness briefly shadowed Caleb’s face. His features quickly hardened and he jerked his head. “That’s him.” He didn’t point, and Duke appreciated the small gesture of respect aimed at the boy, even if the kid didn’t know it. “That’s Travis Tate.” The young man approaching on horseback had a shock of auburn hair, and even on his ride, Duke could see that the kid was all wiry arms and legs. He moved within a dozen feet of the porch steps and slid off his animal. Sweet, open, light brown eyes collided with Duke, wavered, and shifted to Caleb. “Boss?” the kid said. “Is everything all right?” “Don’t worry about anything, Travis,” Caleb spoke, his voice gentle but strong. “You need to go with Sheriff Boone, but you’ll be okay. If they don’t let you out on O.R., I’ll post your bail. You’ll be back with us soon, I promise.” Christ, in moments like this, Duke absolutely hated his job. “Travis Tate”—he moved down the stairs and did it anyway…”I’m placing you under arrest for the statutory rape of Paige Jennings.” * Risa watched and listened from the open window in Caleb’s office, her heart bleeding, not only for the kid Duke took into custody, but for the man making the arrest too. He thought he hid it so well, but she knew his heart. She saw that he would rather be doing just about anything than this. He stuffed his feelings down so well he probably didn’t even realize he did it anymore. Duke Boone needed her at his side, in his bed, and in his life. He needed a safe place to let the mask down. He could fight it all he wanted, but Risa knew he had already begun to feel that she was that place for him to fall. She just had to figure out a way to make him see it.

Chapter Twenty Duke nursed his second beer and tried his damnedest to get into the baseball game on TV. The Minnesota Twins had a hard fought one run lead, but he just couldn’t get revved up about it the way he would have, say, even just a month ago while cheering on his team against Risa’s oddly beloved Oakland Athletics. Risa. He couldn’t focus because he missed her, and he knew it. Her presence wouldn’t change the shitty day he’d had; he still would have had to arrest a decent, hardworking boy. He would stay on the case and try to convince Paige’s parents to let the charges drop, but the awful thing was that oftentimes he had no control over the outcome of some of the arrests he had to make as the law in this town. One of the best things that had come with Risa being in his life was that he could do his job during the day, all the while knowing he could come home and lose himself in her for a few hours, versus chasing a frozen meal down with a couple of beers—which was what he had done tonight. That made all the difference in the world on these downright crappy days. Duke snarled at his own reflection in the television, embracing the feral feeling that coursed through his blood. He was horny as hell and missed his woman, but just as he’d known for the last year and a half since he’d begun dealing with this ridiculous attraction, he couldn’t fool his body into thinking he wanted another woman. It was Risa, or no one. Unfortunately, having experienced her uniquely carnal and innocent brand of loving made it physically painful to go back to the life he had before she took over his every waking thought. He lifted the bottle of beer to his lips, cursing a string of foul words when nothing more came out of the long neck. “Should have just brought the whole damn six pack with me.” He pushed out of the broken-in, plush couch, scratching his balls through his sweats as he made his way to the kitchen for another brew. Christ, Ren had left for his own place with Cade the better part of six months ago, but Duke still couldn’t get used to the quiet of an empty house. He fucking hated living alone. He uncapped another beer and took a long drag, letting the ice-cold, barley-flavored liquid slide down his throat into his empty belly. Therein lay the problem with those little frozen meals, within an hour he needed to eat again. He threw open a cabinet, wishing that something decent would magically appear that hadn’t been there less than two hours ago. Not a damn thing. Maybe he would order a pizza, although fucking A, it grated to have to pay five bucks extra on top of the tip to get it delivered all the way out here to his house. He rolled his eyes. Hell, he could afford it. The old-fashioned “ding dong” of the original doorbell gonged through the house, snapping Duke out of his thoughts. Probably Ren. The kid had done nothing but worry about the old man in the last two weeks. Spent a lot of time unnecessarily lecturing too, in Duke’s opinion. “Come on in!” Duke went for the phone to order that pizza. “The door’s open, kid! Park yourself in front of the game. We’ll have pizza here in about an hour.” “None for me.” Duke’s hand froze on the receiver as Risa’s throaty, feminine voice tickled his ears,

racing lines of automatic desire straight down to his cock. “I don’t have much of an appetite lately,” she added. Duke turned around, not daring to believe she could actually be in his kitchen and not merely a figment of his imagination. She was real, and she leaned against the doorframe that led to his kitchen. Living, breathing, Risa, in his home. Finally. He opened his mouth and an accusatory, “What are you doing here?” came out. Christ, he hadn’t meant to sound like such a jackass. Especially not after how he’d behaved earlier today. “Sorry.” He raised his hands before she could tell him off again. “My day didn’t get any better after seeing you at Caleb’s, and I just took it out on you. I apologize.” He rubbed at his chest through his t-shirt, desperately trying to ease away the ache that came with seeing her. “It won’t happen again.” Risa moved into the kitchen and rested her hip against the table, putting her about a half distance closer to Duke. “How are you?” She searched his face, her unwavering green eyes taking her time studying him. She rubbed the edge of her jaw and pointed at his. “How is it? You behaved like an overbearing jerk, but my brother had no right hitting you. I came by to make sure you were okay.” Duke maneuvered his jaw side to side, testing the tenderness. “I can feel it, but it’s nothing I can’t live with. It’ll be gone in a few days.” “You could have pressed charges against him. I thank you for not doing that.” Shaking his head, Duke moved closer to her warmth. He had to. “I would never do that. This was personal.” He stopped right in front of her, inhaling her clean, powdery fragrance. Her very presence intoxicated his senses, rushed adrenaline through his veins, bringing him to life once again. “I understand Luke’s desire to protect you. Christ, I feel something just as intense myself.” Sparks lit up Risa’s gaze, but she quickly pulled herself back in control. “I didn’t come here to fight about my riding.” “I don’t ever want to fight with you, honey.” Duke wrapped his arm around her waist and lifted her to the table, unable to hold back the urge to touch her. He gently pushed her thighs apart and slid in between her legs. “I need you to at least believe that.” She ran gentle fingertips over his bruised jaw. “I do,” she said softly. A tremor rolled through him, and he pushed against her core. “Jesus,” he muttered thickly, “I want to hear you say those words in another way.” “I know you do.” The quiet belief resonating in Risa’s voice rendered him completely vulnerable to her. “Eventually, you’re gonna come around and we’ll be together again.” “Or you will,” he corrected. She opened her mouth, surely to protest. He swooped down and kissed her, stealing the words away. She opened up for him immediately, and Duke groaned, sliding his tongue inside, needful of his mate. She clutched at his waist, her fingers digging into him through his shirt before twisting in the fabric to tug it up his body. The shirt bunched on his chin, forcing their lips to part. Together, they got his shirt over his head. It fell from her fingers to the floor in a black puddle against the pale tile. Risa’s gaze found his, her green eyes sparkling like dew on new spring grass. “This probably isn’t smart.” She ran her hands up and down his chest and stomach, spurring his

desperation for her by leaps and bounds. “We haven’t resolved anything between us. It would just be sex.” Possession burned in Duke’s soul. “We have never had ‘just sex.’ “ He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her flush against his chest. “And you damn well know it.” He latched his mouth to hers and started walking them through the front room straight to the stairs. “I know, I know.” Risa toed off her sneakers, each of them thudding as they hit the top step and bounced the rest of the way down to the landing. Her denim jacket went next, dropping to the floor just outside his bedroom door. She ran kisses all over his face, each loving touch sucking him back into her warm, wonderful world. “I’ve missed you so much, Duke. My days don’t feel right without you in them.” He lowered her to the bed and came down on top of her. With shaking hands, he brushed her hair away from her face. “I’ve been in a black mood for two damn weeks.” He reached between their bodies and unbuttoned her shirt, smoothing the plackets aside. A serviceable white bra concealed her breasts from his gaze, and something about removing undergarments from such a practical woman felt a thousand times more real and intimate than stripping off anything black, lacy, or barely there, could ever be. He unhooked the three front fastenings and her luscious breasts spilled free. Tenderly, he rubbed away the red line marring her flesh where the elastic had dug into her skin. “Mmmm…” Her body rolled in a contented wave beneath him. “That feels nice.” He pressed a line of kisses along the underside of her breasts, touching over the angry line from edge to edge. He licked his way back to the center point. Flicking a quick gaze up to her, he trailed a wet line down the center of her torso with the tip of his tongue. He dipped into her belly button for a quick swirl before having to stop when he reached the waistband of her jeans. Moving lower, he pushed his face into her crotch, inhaling deeply while he worked her belt open and unfastened her jeans. Her pungent, womanly fragrance assaulted his senses and took over his brain. “I’ve missed how wet you get for me.” He bit at her mound through her clothes. “I’ve missed smelling you on my fingers, tasting your tanginess on my tongue, feeling you squeeze my cock as you come.” He pushed his hands in her loosened jeans and eased them down her hips to her thighs. He slid off the bed to his knees, pulled off her thick socks, and then tugged her jeans the rest of the way off her body. Immediately, the thick line of gauze covering her calf drew his full attention. Christ, he hadn’t forgotten about what happened to her for one second, but the visual aid drove the accident front and center in his thoughts once again. He breathed deeply as the fear hit him in a fresh wave. Just then, her fingers tunneled into his hair, drawing his gaze away from her wrapped calf. Risa sat up and took his face in her hands. “I’m fine,” she said gently, nodding as she did it. She rubbed her thumbs back and forth over his cheeks, as if soothing an injured animal. “You’re not going to hurt me, I don’t want you to stop.” She shrugged out of her shirt and bra, revealing a lot of angry bruising surrounding her injured, still partially wrapped shoulder. He hesitated. Damn it, he would never forgive himself if he hurt her further. “Please.” Hooking his sweats with her fingers, Risa pushed them down until his

straining cock sprang free. “I need to feel connected to you again.” Watching her stare at his member, a fat bead of precum drizzled out of his slit. Risa caught it on her finger and smeared it over one of her nipples, darkening the ruby red color with sheen. Breathing became more difficult for Duke then, and he pumped out a little more seed. She captured it and anointed the crest of her other puckered tip in exactly the same way. “I wear your brand, Duke.” She pushed back to the center of the bed and spread her legs. “Whether visible to anyone else or not”—she tweaked and twisted her slicked-up nipples…”it’s always there. On me.” She tugged on her tits, moaning as she pulled and distended the tips. “Or in me.” She reached between her legs and sank two fingers between the swollen folds of her sex. “Oh God.” Her hips bucked on her buried digits. “This isn’t nearly enough.” Splitting her legs wide open, she hunched over, watching herself as she finger-fucked her cunt. “You’ve ruined me for anything else. Nothing takes me over or satisfies me like your cock.” Every time Duke thought he knew this woman she gave him another layer in which he could get lost forever. Jealous of those fingers that stroked inside her body, Duke crawled on the bed next to her. He removed her fingers and brought them to his mouth. His eyes on her, rather than licking them clean, he rubbed them over his lips, coating himself in her, as she had done for him. Her pupils dilated and her other hand twisted in the comforter, so he knew she experienced the same need to own the other person body and soul, just as he did. He wanted to shove her into the bed and fuck her relentlessly until neither one of them could move, but those damn glaring white wraps on her leg and shoulder wouldn’t let him overpower her with the force his body needed to inflict in order to settle the battle waging within him. Instead, he guided her onto his lap and let her legs stretch out on either side behind him. Capturing her gaze, he reached down and held his cock up straight. With a palm to the small of her back, he eased her toward him, and slowly, maddeningly, she sank down on his pole until her snug channel fitted him to the hilt. She engulfed him like a custom fitted glove, surrounding his cock in her warm, wet snare. He bit back the need to ram up into her over and over again until he came, and let her set the pace. Risa leaned back just a little bit and braced herself on the bed with her good arm. He held an open hand against the small of her back, supporting her as she started to move. Steady, easy rocks from her pelvis, the small movement barely generating any friction over his agonized cock, slowly drove Duke insane. He looked down at their connection, his nostrils flaring as he realized he could see where his cock entered her body. He watched the small thrust from her opening that ate and released the two inches visible at the base of his penis. Knowing that this woman openly accepted his buried length spiked a shameful vulnerability in Duke that he did not want anyone to see. Quickly, he closed the distance between them and slanted his mouth over hers in a hard, claiming kiss. She wrapped her arms around his back and held on tight. Moaning, she tangled her tongue with his and took on his kiss with equal fervor. She countered every move he gave her with one of her own, all the while driving her short fingernails up and down his spine in a whisper soft caress that rocked a tremor through him to his core. He slid his hands down and cupped her buttocks, tilting and holding her front plastered to his. One hand slid lower through her crease, grazing over her puckered hole,

drawing a gasp from her, before moving lower to hold his cock so it wouldn’t slip free. Their breaths mingling heavy and hot, their mouths only an inch apart, Duke met the blur of Risa’s passion-darkened gaze. “We can’t be over.” He spoke without a filter. “I haven’t taken your ass.” He slid his thumb in between her cheeks, rubbing over the dark entrance once again. “You told me I could have it one day if I wanted it.” He darted his tongue between her parted lips quickly, and licked. “I’m not nearly done with you. I want it.” He touched again. “I want it, and more.” “You can have it.” She wiped at the hardness he knew marred his face. “I have condoms and lube at home.” She kissed his cheek, his forehead, his nose. “Come back to me and you can have whatever you want.” “I… I…” He wanted… What? Other than her safe, he didn’t know anymore. Suddenly needing to move, Duke rolled them onto their sides, and with their legs tangled, he shifted her onto her back. Her inner thighs clutched his hips, squeezing him exquisitely, and he started to thrust. As much as he wanted to, he couldn’t look away. “I… I…” He choked on feelings that paralyzed him to admit. She pulled him down fully on top of her and touched her lips to his. “I know,” she whispered. She slid her fingers between their touching mouths and grazed his lips. “I love you too.” He ate her words, and her cry too, as he drove into her tight heat, jamming his cock so deep he didn’t know if he would ever get out. She gave him everything, and then offered more. “I love you, I love you,” caressed Duke’s mouth, teeth, and tongue, coating him with emotion that completely buckled his control. He clutched her hips, holding her to him as he seized. He gritted his teeth as his orgasm tore through him, touching over every nerve ending in his body, collecting every damn ounce of emotion in him before shooting her full of cum. He filled her up, and she shook beneath him, grabbing his dick as she throbbed and pulsed around his cock, giving him even more of herself as she came without any help from him at all. Tension slowly released Duke’s muscles, leaving him weak and replete. He tucked his face into her neck, breathing deeply of her unique honey and powder fragrance, taking as much of her into his body as he could. Risa ran her hands around his neck, playing with the hair at his nape as she held him close to her heart. He felt petted and cared for, and more connected to her than any other woman he’d ever let into his life. He pulled out of the tuck in her neck to tell her so. He rolled his head back on her shoulder, and she cried out, her face a twist of pain as tears pricked her eyes. Quickly, Duke remembered. She played fast and loose with her safety, and sometimes she fell well short of the bar. By forgetting that for half an hour, he hurt her further himself. * Duke pulled away from Risa, clenching his teeth as their bodies separated once again. She watched him as he looked away and blinked. When he came back to her, he had his mask fully back in place. Too bad for him that she wanted to talk.

Chapter Twenty-One Risa watched regret set in and harden Duke’s features. She cursed herself mentally for letting the man see the sharp stab of pain that had shot through her shoulder. “It’s all right.” She reached for him, but Duke rolled away, flying off the bed as if she had a disease. “Shit.” He grabbed his sweats off the floor and slipped back into them, his movements concise and fast. “Damn it, I knew I shouldn’t have done that. We kissed, my cock got involved, and all sense of reason went right out the window. I’m forty-four damn years old, you’d think I’d have a little more control by now over where I stick my dick and when I do it.” Well, if he wanted to get right into the nitty-gritty of his personal issues, then they would dive right in together. Risa accepted that she had overworked her shoulder, so she bypassed trying to put her bra back on, opting to go with just a shirt. She worked the buttons, and met his gaze. “You mean in the way you didn’t exercise caution when you got involved with your exwife?” Duke’s gaze snapped with yellow fire. “You don’t know anything about my marriage, so don’t sit there all superior like you’ve got me all figured out.” “I don’t have to be a genius to figure it out, Duke.” She would not sugarcoat a damn thing with this man anymore. “You have fought this relationship between us with one reason or another from the very start. I thought for sure when you asked me to marry you that you had moved past some of your fears about us being together. Now I’m beginning to think you wanted a way out of the engagement from the moment you proposed. The accident gave you the perfect excuse to run. If that hadn’t done it, something else eventually would have. You’re not ready to let go of whatever ugliness scarred you from your marriage and divorce. You’ve made that very clear, even if I didn’t want to see it.” Duke’s face drained of all color, and he went rigid as a statue right in front of her. “That part of my life doesn’t have anything to do with us. You’re reckless with your choices, to the point that you cause yourself injury more often than not. Only, you’re so stubborn about what you do that you don’t want to see it.” “I didn’t behave recklessly, damn it.” Risa shifted up onto her knees in the middle of the bed. “I’m living my life and doing the things I love, and sometimes the consequences hurt. I refuse to hole up in my room and cower under the covers just because a bull threw me, and I certainly won’t hold back anything whenever we have sex. It’s not in me to do that, and you know it.” “You don’t really have a choice on one of those counts,” Duke reminded her. “I will get my goddamned prick under control and stay away from you from now on if it’s the very last thing I do. It takes two to tango, and I am not dancing with you anymore.” “So you’re going to punish yourself, as well as me, in order to make your point, is that what you’re saying?” “If that’s what it takes to make you understand the very real danger in what you’re doing, then yes.” Risa shook her head. God, it would be so much easier to work up a full head of anger

and storm out if he behaved this way because he was a chauvinistic pig. She knew his emotional block went so much deeper than that. Weariness set in, and her shoulder ached. Geez, going in circles with Duke on this subject made her damned tired. She rubbed her hands over her face and pulled her hair back in a loose knot. “Listen,” she tried again. “I know you’re scared.” “I’m sane, so of course your bull riding scares me.” He snorted. “I’m scared that you’re gonna die doing something you shouldn’t be doing. And before you say that makes me a sexist”—he held up a hand…”I don’t think God ever intended for men to ride on the back of bulls any more than he did women, so don’t bring up that feminist angle with me. You’re capable of doing just about anything else you want, but you should not be doing this one damn thing that you refuse to let go so we can be together.” “No more than you refuse to admit that this isn’t really about me riding bulls.” Risa scooted to the edge of the bed, and Duke moved back in a flash until his back hit the wall. Rolling her eyes heavenward, Risa grabbed up the rest of her clothes from the floor and got dressed. “Fine, you want to make your decrees and then just shut down if I don’t comply with them? We can do that too. You go ahead and stand there, all stoic and untouchable, and for once you listen to me on this subject.” His jaw clenched. Raising a cynical brow he muttered, “So talk. Get it all off your chest.” She moved to him and got right up into his personal space. “All right, I will.” She searched his face, saw the flicker of panic flash briefly in his eyes. She laid her hand against his bare stomach, and he trembled. God, in moments like this one he absolutely broke her heart. She stood up on tiptoe and brushed a kiss against his lips, aching when he couldn’t seem to help it and grazed her mouth too. Looking into his wary eyes, she said, “You’re afraid, Duke Boone, you’re right about that.” Strength resonated in her voice. “But not about me getting hurt.” She held up a finger before he could protest. “At least, not any more than anyone else in my family is. No, you’re scared I love those bulls more than I love you, and that one day you’re going to wake up and find me gone, poof! just like that. You’re afraid of living through the nightmare of your first marriage all over again. That’s what you’re afraid of, you just won’t admit it.” “Are you kidding me?” Duke’s sharp bark of laughter rang out high and loud to every corner of the room. “That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.” “Do you really mean to stand there and tell me that you don’t see my love for riding as the same thing as what happened with your ex-wife?” “Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying. They aren’t the same thing at all. She is a drug addict, for crying out loud. I happen to know you hardly drink more than the occasional glass of wine.” “God, you make me want to smack you sometimes.” She took one big step back so she didn’t do precisely that. “You know I don’t mean literally, so don’t pretend ignorance with me. You opened your heart to that woman, you fell in love with her and her kid on the spot, adopting him as fast as you could. But when it came right down to it, she chose to satisfy her addictions over building a family with you and Ren. That hurt you, Duke. Don’t try to tell me it didn’t, and don’t try to tell me that it hasn’t colored all of your relationship choices since then because we both know you’d be lying.” “Apparently it doesn’t matter what I say, because you already have all the answers

made up in your mind.” Duke clenched his fists and paced the room. “Jesus Christ, I knew you’d have to nitpick your way into my past eventually. Got to scrape at every damn scab until you know every sordid detail of your lover’s previous life, even when the comparisons don’t make a lick of sense.” Risa turned in a circle, following Duke’s deliberate movements. “You’re afraid to let go with me, Duke. You have fought real intimacy with me from the very beginning. I didn’t challenge it because I wanted to be with you so badly. I thought for sure if you could see how much I loved you that you would eventually be able to open up with me, in every way. Instead, I think it did just the opposite. You started to feel more vulnerable than you have in years, and now you’re scared I’ll wake up one day and choose bull riding over you, so you’re pushing me away before it can happen.” “I am not.” He spun around and stalked her until he loomed over her frame. “Why do women have to dissect everything until you’re just so sure you have all the puzzle pieces together in a nice little picture that fits your TV talk show psychology degrees. Here is the truth, and you will only hear it from me one damn time, so listen up. What. I. Have. With. You. Does. Not. Have. Any. Thing. To. Do. With. My. Ex. Period.” Risa threw up her hands. “Fine. This is all about me riding bulls then, huh? That’s your story and you’re sticking to it?” He swore a colorful line of words under his breath before locking right on her eyes. “It’s not a story. It’s the truth.” For a moment, everything inside Risa went very, very still. She looked into his unwavering eyes, and doubts about every pass she had given him regarding this subject saturated her heart with uncertainty, chilling her to the bone. God, could she really have been that wrong about him this entire time? Did it really not have anything to do with his ex-wife? Could he really be this person he tried so hard to sell her? Pain lanced through Risa’s middle, doubling her over. She forced down the hurt and made herself stand tall, but God, the idea stripped her to her core. Clearing the sudden thickness in her throat, she said, “Okay. If you really mean that, then I don’t want to be with you anymore.” She pushed past him. “Goodbye.” Duke grabbed her arm before she could move. She looked up into his blazing eyes as he hissed, “What in the hell does that mean?” “It means if this stand-off is only about you trying to dictate my riding, then we really are over for good. I won’t fight you about it anymore.” His hand fell to his side and the color drained from his face. “I don’t understand.” Risa moved to the door very carefully, picking her jacket up from the floor before turning around to look at him one last time. She studied every sinewy line, his tall frame that she sometimes thought she knew better than her own body. She took in his big, callused hands, clenched so tightly at his sides, giving away more of his insecurity than he must realize. She met his eyes, no longer defensive chips of cool canary diamonds, but instead the same watery pools of liquid gold that had stolen her heart so long ago. She knew he had so much in him to give to a partner, but if he refused to even admit that his fears went deeper than losing her to death, then she could not keep fighting for the both of them. In that split second of time, Risa’s teenage fantasy of marrying Duke Boone died a quiet death, swelling a terrible, new weight in her heart. A hole gaped inside her soul, one that she had filled with this man for so long she didn’t know how she would ever repair it

with anything else. A small sob escaped her, but she quickly covered her mouth with both hands, stuffing it back down. She backed out into the hall, desperately needing to get away. Duke chased her down, spinning her to a stop at the top of the stairs. He pulled her into his arms, her head in the prison of his strong hands. “What?” He kissed her forehead, temple, and drew her to his chest. “Christ, you’re killing me, baby. I don’t know if I’m supposed to comfort you, or what to do or say anymore that won’t get us into even more trouble.” Risa wrenched herself out of his hold, gritting her teeth as tearing pain stabbed her shoulder. She would not let him see her hurt again and refuel this ridiculous paranoia of his. “You don’t have to do or say anything. You’ve said enough.” She rubbed her arms, inexplicably cold inside as she met his gaze. “You’ve seen me ride bulls, Duke,” she whispered, unable to find a bigger voice right now. “So you know how it feeds my heart and makes me feel extra alive. But if you’re so selfish as to ask me to give that up just because it gives you a little bit more fear than most garden variety husbands have to contend with, then I don’t want to be with you. I can’t respect a man who thinks it’s okay to ask me to kill a piece of my soul just so he can feel a tiny bit safer in his little cocoon of a world. I would never do that to you, and the fact that you for one minute think it’s okay to do it to me makes me wonder if I ever really knew the real Duke, at all. Maybe my teenage fantasies created the man I fell in love with, maybe I made him up because I needed a place to channel everything raging in my heart. All I know is I can’t lie or stifle the things that fuel my soul if I have any prayer of believing someone will love the real me, forever. I thought for sure you were that man. I guess I figured wrong.” Her eyes burned, and her chest squeezed so tightly she thought she might have a heart attack. She choked out, “Goodbye,” before her throat stole the word back and stuffed it deep down inside. She tore down the stairs and out of his house to her truck, barely pausing to grab up her shoes, the thought of another scene too much to bear. She needn’t have bothered. Duke watched from an upstairs window, but he did not follow. **** Duke hung back outside Nate’s shop, his legs dead weights that wouldn’t allow him to move those ten extra feet to the door and go inside. He’d done nothing but think of Risa for one solid week, going over and over in his mind the accusations she’d thrown at him about his ex versus what it said about him if he really did only want her to quit so that he would feel one hundred percent safe in their relationship. He did want to feel secure, he could admit that. Stronger than that, though, he couldn’t ignore his absolute need for her to be safe, no matter what. Just thinking about her dying froze his blood. It deadened him inside, and he couldn’t pretend he didn’t feel it in order to make peace with her. Nothing about her said “average women,” hell, not even “average person” for that matter. She didn’t seem to have that internal “caution” button that kept most people out of the emergency room. He happened to know the sprains, lacerations, dislocations, and concussions she had suffered in her young life had already reached the double digits. That kind of living would eventually catch up to her and do more serious damage.

Possibly, take her life. Duke’s legs turned to jelly. He grabbed the wall at his side to keep him upright. Damn it, he had barely been intimate with her for three months and already the thought of losing her buckled him under. He could not imagine what it would do to him if they had ten years—or even just two—between them before he finally got the call that a bull had gotten the best of her and snuffed out her life. And if they had children by then… Duke shuddered. He couldn’t do that. He’d already had to help one grieving child get over the “loss” of his mother, he didn’t think he could go through any more painful, endless nights of sadness, confusion, and anger like that again. He’d wiped enough silent tears to last him a lifetime. He should just let this thing fizzle out without rehashing the particulars, even though a nagging pull in his chest told him he would never be happy again without her. Ignoring that common sense, Duke fingered the bra in his jacket pocket. He’d found it in his tangled bed sheets after Risa ran out on him, and he couldn’t make himself give it back quite yet. It smelled of her, earthy, powdery, and full of honey, something that bespoke of her very essence just as much as its serviceable style. He’d taken it to work the next day, intending to run it over to her rooms that evening and give it back. Instead, he had stuffed it in his pocket and taken it back home, a process he had repeated every day since. Each day he told himself he would give it back, yet each evening when he went home it remained with him, curled in a ball in his hand as he slept, still clutched tightly the next morning when he awoke. It was insanity and he knew it. He had to let go and give the scrap of material back. Duke took a step to the door. Through the display window he immediately saw Risa inside straightening a shelf of tackle boxes. She had her back to him, but he would recognize her solid, sexy lines anywhere. He hesitated again, rethinking the wisdom of the time and location for returning such an intimate garment. Duke quickly scanned the rest of the bodies in the store. Leigh, behind the counter, chatted with Cassie Hawkins. Risa had only one other patron; a dark-haired kid in a denim jacket looking over a rack of candy and snacks a couple feet in front of Risa. Something about the kid stirred the fine hairs on the back of Duke’s neck and sent frissons of awareness skittering down his spine. He seemed familiar, although there could be dozen reasons why he felt that way. He looked like a lot of teenage boys, sporting jeans and hair that needed a cut. He had on a denim coat with a Shearling collar, so common around these parts that it made him look even more like just about every other young cowboy around, not less. Certainly nothing unique. Then why did it seem so important? A list of items Duke had stared at a thousand times materialized like a specter before his very eyes. Oh, shit! This list on his damn board. The items taken from the dry cleaners. Among the list of a half dozen things, one men’s denim jacket. The kid from the grocery store flashed through Duke’s mind. He had his thief! Duke went for the door, his heart racing a million miles a minute. On the other side, he saw Risa move in behind the boy and reach for his arm. “No, no, no,” flew from Duke’s mouth the second he swung open the door. At the same time, he heard Risa say, “You gonna pay for that?” From five feet away that felt like a mile, the kid saw Duke, heard Risa, and moved

with incredible speed. The teen twisted his arm out of Risa’s and pulled her in front of him, his dark eyes wild. Duke barely noticed that. He only cared about the knife the kid had pressed against Risa’s neck.

Chapter Twenty-Two Oh, crap. If Risa didn’t have a clear view to the absolute, deathly seriousness etching new lines into Duke’s face, as well as the steady hold he had on his aimed weapon, she might have taken a moment for a hysterical little bubble of laughter. Because, really, she had to wonder how many women could say someone had held them at knifepoint twice before they turned twenty-five. Duke’s gaze darted from Risa’s to the register for a split second. “Leigh, Cassie, I want you to get out of here. Take the keys, go out the back door, and lock it behind you. Then I want you to come around to the front and lock this door behind me. Understand?” Cassie got a wide-eyed Leigh moving. “Done.” She pushed the older woman out through the backroom. Duke came back to Risa, barely connecting with her eyes before shifting his focus slightly above her head. “You don’t want to do this.” He had that eerie conversational tone in his voice, exactly as Risa remembered it sounding on that day Justin MacLesten had held her hostage at gun and knifepoint. “There are a lot worse things to do time for than stealing a couple of candy bars. You harm a hair on this woman’s head and you’re gonna find yourself in a whole different world of hurt than you were five minutes ago.” The kid’s arm around Risa’s waist wrenched her flush against his front. The shaking in his body practically rattled her teeth. “I know you know me.” Fear cracked his voice, making him sound much younger than he certainly must be. “You saw me at the grocery store.” “Yeah, I did,” Duke confirmed. “But we don’t have to think about that right now.” Behind Duke, Leigh locked the door. A little farther back, Cassie had her cell phone attached to her ear. Damn it. She did not want this getting out of control. Duke inched slowly closer. “Don’t move, man.” The boy dragged Risa another step back. “I know you figured it out.” The knife wavered against Risa’s neck. “I could tell when you opened the door that you knew.” “Yeah, I do.” Duke gave the slightest nod. If he didn’t have a handgun pointed out in front of him, Risa would have thought him in the midst of a conversation with one of his deputies. “None of those thefts matter to me right now, all right? All I care about is you letting this woman go before anyone gets hurt.” “I don’t think you give a shit if I get hurt,” the boy snapped. “I don’t want to shoot you.” The kid jerked, clearly imagining that very scenario, probably for the first time. God, he was still a boy, and the terror at where he now found himself emanated from him in palpable waves, penetrating Risa’s pores. She knew she had to do something, and like with Justin MacLesten before, she looked to Duke and hoped like hell he could read her intentions. She met his gaze. “Listen to me, Duke.” She lowered her voice to hardly more than a whisper. She had three lives to think about here, and one in particular she did not want to

have to watch her being injured, his very greatest nightmare come to life. “This isn’t like before. Do you understand me?” Completely hard and immobile, Duke’s face still somehow resonated his helplessness. “I’ll do what I have to do.” “He’s scared.” She begged with her eyes that he hear what she conveyed beneath her banal words. “He doesn’t want to hurt me.” “Doesn’t mean he won’t.” “The knife isn’t even very sharp.” “I don’t care.” Duke’s jaw ticked. “He has it against your neck.” “I can hardly feel it.” “Wait … what?” Confusion laced the kid’s voice. “What is she…” The kid loosened his hold the slightest bit, and Risa acted fast. She shoved his forearm up to her face and bit down. At the same time, she lifted her boot between his legs and kicked his left knee out from under him. The teen howled and stumbled, pulling her to the ground with him as he fell. She rolled out of the tangle of his arms and legs, kicking the knife out of his reach as she moved. Duke covered the kid in a shot, had him on this stomach with his hands cuffed behind his back moments later. Risa gasped on the floor, breathing heavily through the adrenaline rushing through her now that the intensity of the moment had passed. Duke held the kid down and shot her a murderous stare. “I could fucking strangle you myself for doing that, damn it.” She swore to God sparks flew through the air from him to her. “You always have to do the damn riskiest thing and put yourself in even more danger. Jesus Christ, Risa, this kid could have shoved that knife straight through your throat if you hadn’t taken him in just the right split second in time.” “He wouldn’t have done that,” Risa murmured. She did, however, rub her neck. She looked at the kid as Duke helped him to his feet. His dark brown eyes pierced her with a strange belligerent horror. “He didn’t want to hurt me, I could feel it. He’s obviously never done anything like this before.” “Maybe he hasn’t grabbed anyone before”—Duke lifted his hand and made a beckoning gesture. Risa turned, and found Cade and Deputy Maxwell outside with Cassie and Leigh…”but he’ll have a list of charges a mile long brought against him by the end of the night.” His gaze clashed with hers. “You got lucky—again.” Hardness thinned the lines of his mouth. “One day that luck is going to run out.” The lock on the front door clicked and the door flew open. Cassie and Leigh rushed to Risa’s side while the deputies went to Duke. “Are you okay?” “Are you all right?” “Yeah, yeah.” Risa gave each woman a quick hug, her focus still on Duke. “I’m fine.” In the background of Cassie and Leigh’s fretting, Duke instructed Deputy Maxwell to collect and bag the weapon Risa had kicked under one of the display shelves, and then to take her preliminary statement. Duke transferred the kid to Cade, and Cade began reading the teen his rights as both men walked him out of the store. As they moved past Nate’s picture window, Risa connected with two gazes. One she hardly knew, but for some reason it pricked at her heart. The other, fiery in its intensity, burned straight through to her soul.

Each time she crossed paths with Duke it seemed they butted heads even more, and continued to grow farther apart. Risa turned away, rubbed her arms, and shivered. **** Duke slipped into the interrogation viewing room and moved to the two-way mirror. He glanced in at Deputy Stuart through the glass and then to Cade at his left. “Anything?” he asked. He looked in at the boy sitting across from Max. He and Cade had taken the first stab at getting the silent kid to open up. When they came up empty, they thought a woman might be able to reach him. Frustration had forced Duke outside for some fresh air, and hopefully, some new perspective. “Even just a name?” “Not a damn thing.” Cade rested his arms against his chest. “He has a glassy, dead look in his eyes,” the deputy shared. “I don’t think he’s gonna talk. Jace got back from the high school a few minutes ago and reports that none of the staff recognized his picture. None of the neighboring counties has called back with an ID on him yet either, but it’s still early. Hopefully the prints we sent to Bozeman will tell us who he is.” “Doesn’t make any damn sense,” Duke swore. “He panics, grabs Risa, and practically confesses to me that he is responsible for those robberies and he knows I know it. Fifteen minutes later, we sit him down in the interrogation room and he calmly doesn’t say a single word in three hours time? Look at him.” Duke punctuated with his finger against the glass. “He can’t be more than seventeen, if he’s even that. How does a kid pull it together like that and get so cool, so fast?” Cade slid Duke a knowing look. “What’s the only reason you know for a kid’s eyes to shut down like that?” Sickness churned in Duke’s belly. “Survival.” Empathy burned in Cade’s dark eyes. “Yep.” His scars pulled his mouth down into a hard grimace. “Got it in one.” The question then became: from what? **** Hours later, Duke found himself at Risa’s door, unable to stay away. Locks grated and turned, and suddenly there she stood, a picture of strength and beauty that both calmed and aroused him. She also incited the basest, rawest emotions he had ever experienced in his life. As much as he wanted to, he couldn’t control or keep at bay those fiercer feelings for this one damn woman. They kept drawing him back to her warmth time and time again. Duke pulled his hand out of his pocket and dangled her bra from his fingers. Risa grabbed it and tucked it in a ball against her chest. She looked him up and down thoroughly before finally meeting his gaze. “Do you want to come inside?” Christ, he knew he shouldn’t. “Thanks.” She stepped back, let him in, and locked the door behind him. Without words, she started up the stairs. He followed, and couldn’t help his attention straying to the way her worn-in jeans cupped the shape of her sweet ass. Her long legs and the small of her back beckoned him too, and before they reached the room he had mentally removed every stitch of her clothing and had her spread open before him on her bed.

Risa reached her bed and turned. Fearful of his volatile mood, Duke stayed at the door. He drank her in from the front just as openly as he’d done from behind. “Why aren’t you in bed yet?” She had on the same clothes from earlier in the day. Those beloved jeans of hers and a dark blue button-down shirt; they would be forever seared in his brain attached to a knife at her throat. He growled and moved into the room. “It’s damn late to still be dressed and awake.” “I spent the entire night fielding visits from concerned friends and family.” She fingered the edge of the bed behind her. “Luke and Cain, Caleb, Hank, and a lot of the other cowboys I work with.” Her gaze met his. “Ren, who told me he is worried about you.” Duke couldn’t take his eyes off the pale, flawless column of Risa’s neck. “I didn’t have the knife at my throat,” he said. “I know.” Christ, it only took one thought about how that boy’s hand could have slipped, slicing her open… Duke cupped her nape and rubbed his thumb along that warm flesh, assuring himself that its perfection wasn’t an illusion. “We should have caught him before it got this far.” He tilted her head back and pressed his lips against her skin, needing to feel the life thrumming within. “I saw him at the store, damn it.” His other hand curled in a tight fist against her back. “He stood out for some reason and I couldn’t figure it out, and then I fucking let it drop when I got that call about you. I should have had Cade follow him.” “Shh, shh.” Risa pulled his head out of the crook of her shoulder and held his face in her hands. “How could you have known?” “It’s my job to protect the citizens of this town.” Unfiltered emotion from the day ran through Duke unchecked, rubbing his voice raw. He covered her hands with his and held her to him. “It’s my job to protect you.” “Baby, I don’t need protecting. I need a partner.” She pulled him to her and grazed his lips, again, and again, and again, whispering, “When will you open your eyes and see that?” “I can’t be any other way.” He pulled the tie off the end of her braid and tumbled her hair down around her shoulders. She turned her face up to him, her green eyes sparkling in the light from the lamp. Her stare squeezed at his chest, strangling his throat. “I can’t turn it off. I can’t… I can’t make myself stop.” She traced his cheekbones, forehead and jaw, and rained tiny kisses in the wake of her touch. “It won’t break you to say it, Duke.” His eyes met hers, open again in the way he had become so accustomed to seeing in her. “It’s all right to let go.” “I…” Duke wanted to, Christ how he wanted to speak everything building to overflowing in his heart. “I…” He tried to push the necessary words out through the tightness, but they wouldn’t come. Frustrated and scared, he took her with a hot, openmouthed kiss instead, shoving his feelings into her through the ferociousness of his touch. He hauled her to him and slid his hands down the small of her back, pushing into the back of her jeans to grind her against his raging erection. “Touch me back.” His voice rang ragged in the quickly thickening air. “Please.” She ripped at his jacket and button-down shirt, plainclothes that he now kept stored in his office because of their relationship. Her open palms rushed over his heated flesh in

a frenzy of great sweeps, sending shivers of intense, gripping desire down his spine. She kissed him back with equal brutality, and together their fingers fumbled between them to get their pants down. “Get your boots, get your boots.” Her voice reached his ears, high and frantic. He worked out of the rest of his clothing quickly, his focus never leaving her as she toed off her thick socks and shoved her jeans to a bundle on the floor. She pulled at the snap closures on her shirt and the front hooks of her bra, sending them both to the pile on the floor as well. Fuck, even their clothes bunched together on her floor aroused him, rearing his already leaking cock up towards his belly. He took his fill of her, and the punch of awareness hit him hard, as it always did when she showed herself to him. The red tips of her nipples jutted out against her pale skin, and the light auburn nest of curls between her legs—just the slightest shade darker than the hair on her head—rushed saliva to Duke’s mouth. The sleekly sculpted muscles in her arms and legs, the clearly defined strength that she couldn’t hide even if she wanted to, made him want to throw her on the bed and screw her until he didn’t know anything else but the scent and feel of her body. Until she didn’t remember anything but him, either. Risa dropped to her knees, and Duke released a low, inhuman sound. Damn it, she looked hot poised in front of his cock. He wrapped his hand around the root of his penis and guided the tip of his prick to her closed lips, painting them with his precum. She opened her mouth around his cock, taking him inside, and Duke nearly lost control of his legs. She swirled her tongue around his sensitized head, flicking little swipes across his slit, driving him quickly to madness. Her head bobbed back and forth over his length, tasting every damn inch of him, and delivering him straight to heaven. He rocked his hips back and forth, fucking her mouth in shallow thrusts, needing to ease the tightening in his balls without pulling completely away. No man in his right mind backed off a blowjob, but at the same time, tonight, he didn’t want to come down her throat. Just the thought of that part of her body elicited another rough sound from within Duke, taking him right back to that dull knife blade resting against her vulnerable neck. He clasped his hand around her nape and drew her to her feet. “Damn it, you could have been killed.” He pulled her to him and kissed her savagely, tasting himself on her lips and in her mouth as he took her deeply, trying desperately to chase the demons away. “For the second time since, since…” Since I let myself love you. No, he couldn’t say that and then lose her. “Christ, Risa, you could have been killed.” He cupped her ass and lifted her off the floor. Tossing her on the bed, he came down on top of her, slashing his mouth violently over hers. She opened up and let him inside, accepting his rough passion with equal ardor. Her fingers dug into his back, scratching into his flesh with her little nails, marking a fresh claim that would stay with him tomorrow. She cradled his hips with her powerful thighs, offering him her body without words. Duke slid his hands beneath her, grabbed her wonderful ass and yanked her against his dick. His prick rubbed against her swollen, wet pussy, but his finger slipped into her crease and grazed her asshole. Duke started, breaking their kiss. He lifted his head and met her hazy gaze. “I want this.” He pressed the blunt head of his finger against her hidden entrance. “Tonight, I want your ass.”

Chapter Twenty-Three Duke’s eyes briefly slid closed. Jesus Christ, had he really just asked Risa to trust him enough to let him fuck her in the ass? He had spoken in the heat of the moment, confessing a deeply buried desire that he had never allowed himself to feel until she breached him with her fingers. The act required so much trust in the other person, while they themselves remained in a place with just about everything between them still unresolved. He opened his eyes and found her level gaze waiting for him. “I’m sorry.” He removed his fingers from between her crease. “I didn’t thi…” “Shh.” Risa placed two fingers against his lips. “There’s stuff in the drawer.” She leaned up and brushed her lips against his, tantalizing in its softness. “You don’t have to worry that you’ll hurt me. I saw your eyes when I took you that way; I knew what you wanted. I practiced with a toy so I’d be ready when you asked.” “Christ.” Duke shuddered as fierce, possessive desire rolled over him in a shockwave. “How did I ever think myself the more experienced in this thing we have going between us?” He kissed her hard and fast, branding her before pulling away. Duke slid off Risa and reached for her nightstand. He couldn’t look away from where she reclined so resplendent, almost sinful and decadent in the center of the bed, her thighs spread open with such casual comfort. The rich scent of her heat reached into his pores to the point where he swore he would be able to taste her on his skin. Her sex was so wet her pussy lips already glistened and coated her hair, turning it deep auburn. He pulled open the narrow drawer. “Damn it, woman, you are beautiful.” “So are you.” Her eyes, dark with lust, followed his hands as he pulled out a box of condoms and a tube of lubricant. “All you have to do is look at me and I feel wanted.” “I do want you.” His hands shook as he ripped open the condom packet and readied himself for her. “Like I’ve never wanted anything before.” Their eyes connected, and for a split second, nothing stood between what each of them felt for the other. No filters, no bravado, no pride, just pure, trusting … love. Duke’s penis reared in his hand, almost as if it understood the tumult of vast, uncomfortable emotions wreaking havoc in his hardened heart. “I’ll always be yours, Duke.” Risa rolled over onto her hands and knees. “No matter if we’re together or apart.” She dropped her shoulders into her plush pillow and thrust her ass out in invitation. Then, she reached back and split her cheeks wide open for him, presenting him with her pink, puckered hole. “Please.” A rich, open, depth of feeling flowed from her, permeating the very air Duke breathed. He cursed as his fingers fumbled with the top on the tube of lube. “I need you. I’ve missed feeling you inside me. Take me in a new way.” Time after time Risa made herself completely vulnerable, never pausing to think how he would receive her open enthusiasm and ardor. She wrenched an answering rawness out of him without even trying, one he didn’t know how to express or control without flaying himself open for her in every way. He couldn’t make himself speak of the depth of his feelings for her, the words gutted him and would not leave his throat. He crawled behind her instead and ran his slicked-up

finger down her crack. She shivered, and her sphincter sucked in against his touch. “You sure you want this?” Christ, if he hurt her he would never forgive himself. “Yeah.” She turned her head on the pillow, and he could once again see the desire in her eye. “I used a vibrating plug before, and I took it okay. I want to feel you in there. I know I’ll like it. Fuck me, Duke, please.” He squeezed more lube on his fingers and rubbed her puckered entrance again. She moaned some, so he pressed a little more, insistently, steadily harder. After a half-dozen taps, her opening gave way and his finger slipped inside. Her hands fell away from her buttocks and dug into the comforter. Grunting, she pushed back, while he groaned at the tight heat squeezing his finger. Damn it, he couldn’t even begin to imagine what that would feel like on his throbbing penis, a layer of protection sheathing him or not. He squirted out some more lube around his buried finger, and forced a second digit into her rectum. “Ohhh, God…” Risa’s hands twisted in the bed linens, gripping the fabric in a tight fist. “Give me a minute.” Expelling a deep breath, she gasped and worked herself back onto his embedded fingers. “Mmm, that’s better.” She circled her hips, allowing him to get in to the second knuckle, and beyond. Duke gritted his teeth and listed the entire Minnesota Wild roster—practice squad guys included—so that he didn’t come while watching her pretty little ass accept the invasion of his fingers. “Not enough, Duke.” She lifted up onto her hands and looked back at him. “I need your cock.” Duke carefully pulled his fingers out and guided the head of his penis to her rosy, snapped-shut hole. He placed his hand against her tailbone, rubbed soothing circles, and pushed against her puckered ring with the tip of his cock. He watched, mesmerized, as she rocked back and blossomed for him, opening for his penetration. He moaned and sank his sheathed prick inside. Wicked, searing heat immediately surrounded Duke’s cock. “Oh, shit, I had no idea.” Her smooth channel smothered him in a welcoming tightness, rocking a deep shudder through him in cascading waves. “Damn it, it’s so fucking hot and different.” Duke covered her completely, tucking his face into the crook of her neck. He aligned their arms, locked his hands over hers, and pumped his cock deep into her ass. * Risa bit her lip as she struggled to accept the full length of Duke’s erection. “Oh, God, you feel so much big…” He pulled almost all the way out, stealing the rest of her thought with a strangled gasp. He stilled immediately. “Are you okay?” She could feel just the mushroom head of his penis lodged inside her rectum. He pressed a soft kiss against her shoulder and murmured, “We can stop if you want.” Risa shook her head, the fall of her hair concealing her downturned face. “I don’t want you to stop. I just need a minute to get used to you there.” His thick penetration pulled at her opening, burning the thin membrane of skin. He blanketed her in every way imaginable, and she felt mounted like a hobbled mare in heat. His cock felt so very different from the butt plug she had played with before, even with it being a step up from a small starter toy. She determinedly relaxed her muscles and reminded herself that in this act of coupling she would have very little control. “Take me and let me feel you again.”

Duke pushed in and pulled out, and then did it again, stroking her sensitive, quivering walls with gliding, hot friction. He grunted and squeezed her fingers hard under his, digging them both into the bed. He cursed and jerked, but after that did not move. Risa’s heart thudded and her pussy clenched, sprouting pleasure in other places that roused the need for Duke to take her once again. “Fuck me, Duke.” His concern, and the gentleness he enforced upon himself, turned her on like nothing else, flooding her sex with all she needed in order to reach fulfillment. She bumped back against him while clamping her ass muscles down on his dick. She didn’t exactly feel screaming pleasure, but the connection excited her enough that it didn’t matter. “Fuck me until we both come.” “I will make you come.” He spoke roughly against her ear as he started to move. “I promise.” He rose up and clutched her hips, holding her immobile for his thrusts. He fucked her with deep, full drives into her ass, drawing almost all the way out before plunging back in, taking her until his pubes rubbed against the sensitized flesh right around her stretched ring. The muscles and nerves in Risa’s widened channel settled after a half dozen strokes, and before too long the vaguely enjoyable sensation started tickling lines of secret delight up into her belly and spine. She wiggled back against Duke, moaning as he pushed in to the hilt and ground himself against her back door. “Do you like it?” His voice got into her head and took her over, as it always did. “Does it feel good having my dick buried all the way inside your ass?” She whimpered and fell to her elbows, then to her shoulders, mindless to any discomfort that might want to steal in and ruin this for her. When they had sex, Duke let go of all his inhibitions and talked to her as a man talks to his woman. All of his hang-ups slipped away when they made love, and he gave her the pieces of his soul she knew lived within him just as strongly as the man who demanded her safe keeping at all costs. Risa reached back and clutched at Duke’s haunches, craving as much of him as she could get, in every way possible. “It feels good, Duke.” He shafted her hole in response, and she cried out with delight. “So, ahhh, yes…” Piston-fast moves from his hips whipped up a frenzy of new sensations in her anus. “…good.” Duke rammed her tender tissues, falling over her with his weight until they both collapsed into the bed. “Damn it, your ass is so damn sweet and hot,” he said thickly, his face pressed into her hair, “but it’s not enough for me.” He reared up and pulled out of her rectum, flipping her over onto her back. He tore off the condom and drove into her pussy with his rock-hard dick, taking her deep until he could go no more. His gaze alighted on hers, bright as the blazing sun on a shimmery hot day. He closed the distance between them and framed her head in his hands. “I… I couldn’t feel close enough to you that way.” His voice box sounded blown out, as if he struggled to get each word past his lips. “I need this.” He moved with rocking, deep strokes in and out of her pulsing vagina, moaning low as her body automatically milked his naked penis. “I’m old-fashi…” She covered his mouth. “A traditionalist.” Pulling out of his hands, she reached up and scraped a kiss against his open lips. She smiled, stamping the gesture onto his hard mouth. For them, this felt like where he should be too. “There’s nothing wrong with that.” Duke followed her head back down to the pillow, deepening the kiss. His tongue

brushed hers, and then sank inside for a slow, crazy mating that mimicked the havoc his cock wreaked in her swollen sex. She spread her legs wide, planted her feet into the bed, and pumped her hips up to meet every downward stroke from him. He reached between their bodies and tunneled his fingers to her engorged, un-hooded clit. He rubbed, and she bucked. In conjunction, her pussy clamped around his thick member, sucking him even farther inside. He hissed, breaking their kiss. His jaw clenched and his eyes squeezed shut tight. “Christ, I love when you hold me like that.” He teased the perimeter of her clit mercilessly with two fingers, sending her hips into a flurry of motion as she fought and reached for the intimate touch at the same time. His chest rode heavy against her breasts, arousing her nipples to pointed attention that dug into his muscles, tormenting her even further. “I feel like I’ve been hard for hours, baby. I need to come.” Risa lifted up onto her hands, panting and perspiring in a hazy, sex-filled moment in time where nothing mattered but coming. She looked down and watched Duke’s digits and cock work over her pussy and bead, each movement made more real by the mingling smells of their aroused bodies and the slapping sounds of juices and body parts rubbing against each other in all manner of contact. The top of Duke’s head brushed against hers, and she realized he also watched his penis plunging in and out of her cunt as he fucked her. Something about watching themselves together as they shared this act always pushed Risa right to the edge. “More, Duke, please.” She didn’t exactly know what she wanted, she just felt as if she needed to claw out of her own skin before she fell over the precipice. Duke lifted his head and latched his lips onto her aching breast, suckling her tit with a powerful, deep pull. He rolled her nipple against the roof of his mouth, scissored her clit between two of his fingers, and delivered her cunt a deep, throbbing hit from his prick. In a flash, everything coiled low in Risa’s belly, tightening with sinful, almost painful, delight. She looked up and exploded, screaming Duke’s name as she came hard and fast, grabbing at his length with out-of-control spasms from deep within her sex. Duke’s hoarse cry came right on top of hers. He pulled out, his body going rigid before her for a pair of heartbeats. Seconds later hot cum spewed from his cock in a rainstorm of his making, scorching her belly and breasts as he jerked, pumping himself fast with his hand, covering her torso with his heated essence, his mark, branding her as he came. Risa took everything Duke had to give, reveling in this base display he could not conceal. Suddenly, he came down on top of her, his breathing heavy, tingling her lips and cheeks with the humid heat of his abbreviated, sharp breaths. He gasped and choked, clearly struggling to return to earth in the aftermath of what they had shared this night. Risa stroked Duke’s sweat-slick back and sides with the tips of her fingers, and rubbed at his calf and ankle with the sole of her foot. He snuggled into her, smearing his cum over their skin. Just as quickly as he settled, his muscles tensed under her hands. “I don’t want to ruin this.” She buried her face into the side of his head and pressed a kiss against his hair. “Let’s forget for one night that we have issues we can’t resolve and just pretend we’re a regular, normal couple who share a bed every night after a long day apart from each other.” She knew she made a foolish request, and that she could end up hurting a thousand times worse than if she just let him go now. Something powerful that

she could not ignore still beat within her heart though, and she couldn’t let this need to show him what they could be pass by without trying one more time. “Give me this, Duke, just one night.” She pulled his head out of her shoulder and met his gaze. “Talk to me as if we’re together. Tell me what happened at work tonight that led you back to me.” Duke pulled out and rolled over, tossing her one corner of her blanket as he took the other for himself. He wiped the glisten of ejaculate off his chest and stomach and then shoved a pair of pillows against her wrought iron headboard, leaning back into them. “The kid won’t talk,” he finally said. He drew up a knee and rested his elbow on it, then ran his other hand over his face and through his mussed hair. “I have his picture out to every law enforcement organization in the state, as well as the bureau for missing and exploited children. His prints are in Bozeman running through every program they have, and so far nothing has turned up. It’s like this kid didn’t exist before he started stealing shit from my damn town.” His visible frustration swelled a dull pain in Risa’s heart. “How did you know it was him?” “Aside from the fact I saw him stealing from you right in that moment, you mean?” A wry smile touched just the edge of Duke’s mouth. It disappeared as quickly as it appeared. “I saw him at the grocery store on the night the bull dislocated your shoulder and cut up your calf.” All the hard edges briefly took over and stood out in prominence on Duke’s face. “I think I interfered with his attempt to steal that night. Today, I remembered him from the store, and then his jacket clicked in place for me. He stole it from the dry cleaners. He must have read me as I put it all together, because that’s when he grabbed you. Speaking of which”—he leaned forward and tapped her thigh…”you still need to come in and make a statement as to what happened to you.” Risa nodded. “I told Jace I’d do that tomorrow.” Although, truthfully, something about bringing charges against that boy still didn’t feel quite right to her. Goose bumps covered her body as she went back to that moment and relived his fear. Duke’s gaze moved down the pinpricks covering her nudity. “Come here, honey.” He tugged her between his legs and tucked her against his chest. The scent of what they’d done together still lingered on their flesh, tugging Risa back under the spell of her adoration for this man. “You’ve made a statement before, you know you can do it.” Risa rolled to her side and snuggled into the crook of his arm. “I’m not thinking about that.” Besides, if Duke thought this kid and Justin MacLesten had anything in common, then his job had jaded him far beyond healthy levels. Maybe he needed her more than even she realized. “I just wonder what makes a kid start stealing. And beyond that”—she tipped her head back and tried to look up at him…”where’s all the stuff he took?” “We’ve shown his picture up and down the interstate and none of the motel management recognizes him.” Duke snorted. “We thought he might be living in one of those cheap-ass weekly rentals, but if he is, management won't own up to it. Hell, I’m gonna guess he sold a lot of the stuff for a quick buck.” Duke’s chest heaved beneath her and he let out a long, weary sounding breath. “He’s gotta be a street kid, I just don’t know from where. He’s skinny under that big jacket and loose clothes, I could see that after sitting across from him for a couple hours while trying to get him to talk. He faces a lot of charges, whether he confesses or not. We’ll get everything situated and transfer him to Billings where they have a juvenile facility that can hold him until he goes to trial.”

Risa shuddered. “That sounds so final to me.” She didn’t want to think of the horror stories about prisons, even the ones for youths. “He’ll be permanently branded a criminal. His life will be half over, and he’s hardly even begun living.” “He made his choi…” Duke’s cell phone started buzzing and bouncing around on the floor. It must have slipped out of his pocket in their mad dash to get undressed. “Shit.” Risa stretched out, leaned over the side of the bed, and grabbed it before he moved. She handed it to him and pushed to the foot of the bed to give him some space. She only heard small pieces of the conversation, not much more than a “Sheriff Boone here,” a “give me the location,” and an “I’ll be there in fifteen,” before he ended the call. “I’m sorry.” Duke rolled out of bed and quickly started dressing. “We have a domestic dispute that has turned violent. I need to go, I…” She held up a hand. “I know.” She smiled with encouragement. “You like to make your presence known so people know you take these crimes seriously. It’s your job, I understand.” Back in his jeans and shirt, Duke slid on his jacket and buttoned it up. He shot her a pointed look. “Now why did that feel like nothing so much as a dig at how I feel about you riding bulls?” “If your conscience is pricking at you, then that’s all on you.” She stood up and gave him a quick kiss on his lips. “My comment was sincere.” “Christ, you twist me up good.” Duke dragged her head back and planted long, hard kiss on her that turned her knees to melting ice cream. “I have to go.” He nipped her lips before pulling away. “Don’t forget about coming into the station tomorrow to make your statement.” He pointed from the door. “I’ll come find you if you don’t.” “Promises, promises.” Risa fell back in bed as the remnants of his kiss warmed her from the outside in. She couldn’t be sure, but she thought she heard him laughing in between the slew of curse words he uttered under his breath as he walked away.

Chapter Twenty-Four Risa strode into the station around noon the next afternoon, having taken all the flack she could stand from her fellow ranch hands in regards to not having given her statement about the assault yet. Assault with a deadly weapon would be the precise charge filed against the boy. In a less serious situation, Risa would have rolled her eyes over it. She could hardly think of that shaking kid holding that dull kitchen knife to her neck as a true assault. She still remembered what Justin MacLesten had done to her. If she ever forgot, she could ask for the transcript and photos of her bruised body from the police file to jog her memory. What this kid had done did not even come within a five-mile radius of that event in her mind. This boy had made a mistake, and she couldn’t help feeling sick inside, as if she made herself a part of the problem rather than the solution by helping put him in jail. “Hey, Sarah.” Risa moved to her friend’s desk. She dragged her feet and she knew it, but damn it, she really didn’t want to do this. “How’s it going?” Looking up, Sarah smiled, the light reaching all the way up into her light brown eyes. “I’d be better if I had a date. You trust any of those cowboys you work with enough to set me up with one of them?” “Over my dead body,” a deep voice boomed from the bullpen behind Sarah. Risa glanced over Sarah’s shoulder, right into the mossy eyes of Deputy Jace Maxwell. “No dates with cowboys, and that’s final.” “My watchdog.” Sarah rolled her eyes. “You’ve met him, I’m sure.” She spun around in her swivel chair until she faced Jace. “Next time I talk to my brother I’m going to make sure you’re at the house so he can relieve you of your nanny duties, sir.” Sarah’s brother Hunter was stationed in Iraq on his third consecutive tour. He had asked his best friend Jace to look out for his little sister while doing his duty overseas. As Jace glared right back at Sarah, Risa had to wonder if Hunter had any sense of how long he would be out of his little sister’s life when he made that innocent request of his best friend. Just shy of seventeen when Hunter had left, Sarah had just turned twenty a few weeks ago. Risa understood the need to break free of the loving chokehold of an older brother, so she leaned over the counter and fake whispered, “Jasper is a good guy. I’ll get Ren to talk to him about a double date kind of thing. With Cade there, even our good friend Jace can’t complain about it.” Sarah’s smile lit up her entire face. “I knew we became friends for a reason. Call me when you know something for sure. Now”—she leaned back in her chair…”are you here to make your statement, or do you need a few minutes with the sheriff?” Risa opened her mouth, but the reason for her presence wouldn’t come out. “You…” In that moment, four feet of tornado stormed through the station’s front doors and flew to the bullpen. It charged at the closest uniform, which happened to be Jace. “You give me back my brother!” the shrill voice of a child, scraped raw with desperation, rent through the building. The thin, buzz-cut headed boy flailed, kicking and beating at Jace’s legs and stomach with quick-moving feet and fists. “He didn’t do nothing wrong! I need him! I need him!”

Risa flew around Sarah’s desk into the fray. “Hey, hey, hey!” She pulled the kid off Jace’s leg. Since Jace was half doubled over, Risa suspected at least one punch from the child had landed smack in his family jewels. The kid fought with incredible power in his efforts to break free of her hold. “Stop this right now.” Doors flew open and slammed and within moments Duke, Cade, and Max filled the bullpen. Duke moved first. “What in the hell is going on here?” Jace still seemed incapable of speech, so Risa helped him out. She met Duke’s gaze over the head of the struggling kid. “Can you bring out our thief for a second?” “Absolutely not.” Duke’s voice held complete authority. “I’m working on his transfer paperwork as we speak.” “No! No! No!” The kid pulled relentlessly at Risa’s hold. “Let him go!” Cade moved in, but Risa held him off with a shake of her head. The deputy turned to Duke, got some kind of private message, and backed off. He also stepped back and disappeared down a hallway. Risa turned to Duke again. “Bring the boy out. I think you’ll get all the answers you need if you do. Remember”—she pleaded with her eyes…”two shirts taken from my store. Not one.” Cade appeared from the hallway, the tall, lanky kid cuffed in front of him. “Tyler!” The boy tore at Risa’s hold, and this time she let him go. He ran straight to the teen and threw his arms around the young man’s waist. Little shoulders wracked and heaved, and everyone in the room knew the small one had succumbed to tears. “I was so scared,” he spoke into the bigger boy’s stomach. “I didn’t know what to do.” The older kid’s shoulders fell forward, and he seemed to deflate. Still in cuffs, he couldn’t hug the smaller child. He leaned down and kissed the top of the kid’s head instead. “You should have taken the money and run, runt. I told you again and again what to do if I didn’t come back.” The younger brother looked up, tears filling his eyes. “I couldn’t find Chelsea.” He sniffled. “I don’t know where she went.” “Wait, wait, wait.” Duke forced himself into the conversation. “If someone has gone missing you need to come clean with me. If there is a girl I need to find, I can’t do that without your help.” A battle raged in the teen’s dark eyes, but Duke didn’t blink or back down from the challenge. The boy finally appeared to understand that the silent treatment had to end, and nodded his head. “It’s not another sister. Chelsea is Ruby’s cat.” Duke gently took the smaller child by his shoulders and turned him around. He tilted the kid’s head up to the cruel florescent light, and sure enough, upon closer inspection with direct light, the face had the definite cheekbones and softer feel that spoke of a female. The kid, Ruby, pulled her chin out of Duke’s hand, and he let her go. “Okay.” Duke took charge. “Jace, watch the door. I don’t want anyone coming into this place until I give the word.” He pulled the chairs from next to Cade and Max’s desks and set them side by side. “Take a seat, kids.” He jerked his head at the chairs. “It’s time to tell me everything.” He gave an extra glance to the older kid. “From the beginning.” Risa moved in closer to listen and see both kids clearly. She didn't excuse herself, as she knew she probably should. If Duke and the deputies weren’t so clearly stunned and unprepared for this turn of events they probably would have asked her to leave. She

didn’t intend to remind them of her presence. Something she had felt only once before kept her boots rooted in place. She hadn’t ignored that sense of rightness seven years ago, and she wouldn’t damn well walk away now. Duke pulled a chair in for himself, placed it about four feet away from the kids, and sat down. He nodded at the older one, Tyler. “Go ahead. Let’s start with where you’re from.” “We’re from Kansas.” Tyler glanced up at Cade, who had a notepad and pencil in his hands. “We don’t have no family there anymore, so don’t bother trying to look, thinking you’re gonna find our parents and be heroes or something.” Duke didn’t rise to the bait. “How long have you been gone from home?” Risa noticed Max move to Cade’s computer, the one closest to where the kids sat. “Almost nine months,” Tyler answered. “We ran the night our mom got killed by her boyfriend. We didn’t want to get split up.” “And I didn’t want nobody to take my cat away from me,” Ruby piped up. Tyler had the look of a beleaguered parent in his dark eyes. “Or her bike.” He leaned over and bumped his sister with his elbow. “Did you ride that thing all the way into town?” The little girl nodded. “When it got dark and you didn’t come back, I knew you was here. I know you said to call your friend, but I just couldn’t.” Tears filled her deep blue eyes. “I couldn’t.” Duke looked to Tyler. “You said someone murdered your mom. What was her name?” “Shannon Scrubbs. We lived in Wichita, that’s where she died.” Out of the corner of her eye, Risa noticed Max’s fingers flying over the computer keyboard. “I’m sorry for your loss,” Duke said. “You didn’t have any family that could take you in?” Tyler shook his head, sending his overlong bangs to covering his eyes. Without thinking, Risa stepped in and pushed the flyaway strands back behind his ears. The boy murmured, “Thanks.” Duke shot her a look she couldn’t read, probably censure. She raised her eyebrows and linked her wrists together in front of her to remind him the kid still had his hands cuffed. Duke went back to the children. “Did you see this boyfriend kill your mom? Can you give me a name?” “We didn’t see it,” Tyler answered. “But he was a mean son of a bitch. He was kind of like her pimp. He controlled her with drugs; she couldn’t give the stuff up. One night after I picked up Ruby from a friend’s house we went home and found Mom on the floor with blood all around her. Elton did it. That’s when I told Ruby we had to go.” “Why not go to the police and turn this guy in?” Tyler’s eyes sparked protective fire. “Me and my sister, we only got each other. It has been that way since we were little.” He punctuated each word with deathly seriousness. “I know how the system works. I was friends with a girl that got split from her brothers when she went into foster care, and that ain’t the first story I’d ever heard like that. I wasn’t going to let that happen to us.” “It doesn’t always happen like that, Tyler,” Duke said, empathy creeping into his

voice. “In many situations siblings do get to stay together.” Tyler snorted. “A ten year old girl and a sixteen year old boy, Sheriff? I may not be rich and live in a nice house, but that don’t make me stupid. Ruby would have gone into a foster home, and I would have gone into one of those big group homes where they don’t give a shit what’s happening to you as long as they collect their paycheck. I wasn’t gonna let that happen. I told Ruby what would happen if we didn’t go right away. She wouldn’t leave without this damn neighborhood cat and her bike, so I let her have that so we could get out of there fast.” He looked down at his sister, his eyes clouding over with pain. “I guess none of that matters now, since I’m gonna go away to juvie and she’s gonna end up in the system anyway.” Duke tunneled his hands through his hair. “What a mess you’ve stepped in, kid.” Tyler wore grim acceptance on his tough young face. “I know.” Ruby burrowed in as close as she could get to her brother, and it damn near broke Risa’s heart. Tears filled the little girl’s eyes once again, and Risa couldn’t stand to see it. These kids reminded her so much of her and Luke. She knew without a doubt had their mother not survived what their father had done to her, Luke would have done exactly what this kid had done. Smart or not, the boy needed the one member of his family that he had left. She and Luke would have felt the same. The warm feeling of acceptance that had settled over Risa in the diner all those years ago filled her once again. As before, she could not ignore it. She pushed away from the wall and turned to Duke. “Can I talk to you privately for a minute?” Duke shot her an annoyed look, but got up anyway. She pulled him past Jace at the door to the sidewalk outside. Duke crossed his arms against his chest. “What is it?” Impatience rang loud and clear in his voice. A different kind of impatience wouldn’t let Risa stand still. “I need to go.” In her mind, she began to catalog the list of people she needed to speak to today, trying to organize them by location for efficiency. “But can you promise me you won’t take that boy to Billings today?” “I won’t promise you any such thing. I can’t make you a promise like that, and you know it.” Shame reddened Risa’s cheeks. “Okay, fine, you’re right. I apologize.” She quickly back-tracked, but she wouldn’t back off. “But you can’t be done asking him questions yet, can you? I mean, where have they lived all this time, and what are they doing hiding out in Montana? How’d they get here?” She met his defiant gaze. “I know you, Duke. You won’t let those kids go until you have the whole story. So let me ask you this instead: can you tell me if you think you’re going to get everything out of them in time to take Tyler to Billings today? And knowing the girl needs to have at least one more night with her brother before he’s taken away, will you try and find a way to keep her here overnight, with him?” “I can see your wheels working, Risa.” Duke sighed wearily. “What in the hell are you up to?” “I don’t exactly know yet. I just know I need to do something.” She wrapped her hand around his hard forearm and squeezed. “Can you tell me if I at least have the time to try?”

Duke rubbed his face and locked his hands around the back of his neck. “Fine. They’re both staying put until I have my answers, and I don’t see that happening in the next hour. That’s all I can say. You can read what you want into it.” She had a little bit of time. “Thank you, Duke.” She leaned up on tiptoe and pecked a quick kiss on his cheek. “I’ll be back tonight. Bye.” Risa darted across the street to see Mavis, the first stop on her list. * From the other side of the street, Duke watched Risa duck into the diner and grab Mavis Pritchard away from one of the tables in front of the picture window. He knew Risa’s soft heart wanted to fix this situation for these kids, but this time Duke feared her heart would be broken when she realized she couldn’t do anything to keep those kids together. Duke rubbed at his chest, his heart hurting for Risa and her hopeless plight. He resolved to take care of her when she crumbled. He grimaced, but went back inside to get the rest of Tyler and Ruby’s gut-wrenching story.

Chapter Twenty-Five “Jesus Christ,” Duke uttered. He pulled the branch and bramble coverage off the dilapidated vehicle, his stomach twisting with heaviness as he looked inside. Turning his head, he glanced at Tyler. “This is where you’ve lived for the last nine months?” The kid shook his head. “Not quite. We lived in a Motel 6 out on the interstate for a while until the money we stole from Elton’s hiding place ran out.” Even if the teen hadn’t shared so openly, Duke easily would have determined the answer for himself. Piles and piles of blankets and clothes littered the backseat, while the front seats held mountains of stuff from a little outdoor grill, to a travel radio, a few bags of individual sized chips, batteries… The list went on and on. All very likely things Tyler had stolen, beyond what Duke knew about already. Duke turned to Ty. “How did you end up here?” Tyler slid his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “We pulled off the road late one night to rest. I drove through the brush because I wanted to get as far away from being spotted as possible. When we woke up the next morning, the car wouldn’t start. Maybe I drove over something and damaged something important, I don’t know. Anyway, it’s not like I could have hired someone to come look at it, so we covered it up as best we could and ended up staying here.” Cade looked up from where he stood at the front of the car. “What was your plan, Tyler?” His voice held only interest and concern, no judgment at all. Duke liked that about Cade, and often wished he could cultivate it a little more in his own life. “I’m sure you didn’t intend to hide out in one of the coldest states around, car dying out on you or not.” “Like I said, man, I’m not stupid.” Defensiveness pushed Tyler’s shoulders back, showing him to his full six feet of height for the first time since instructed to do so for his mug shot. Once he started eating regularly and getting proper care, he would end up being a decent sized young man. “I used to know a guy that lives in Canada now. First night we stopped to rest, I came up with a plan while Ruby slept. Next morning we found a library with Internet service and I looked up my friend’s phone number. I called him and told him what happened, and he said we could stay with him until I found a job and could afford a place for me and Ruby to live.” The hairs on the back of Duke’s neck rose to attention and sent cold sweat popping up on his back. “Please don’t tell me this is a man old enough to make that kind of decision without needing parental consent.” Tyler’s eyebrows knitted together. “Why do you want to know?” “Because there are a lot of sick bastards in this world, Ty.” Duke didn’t want to think about the thousands of other runaways that the sickos of this world sucked into horrific, vile things because they didn’t understand how tough living on the streets actually is. “You’ve had to survive on your own for long enough that I shouldn’t have to tell you that.” Visible relief washed over the kid’s face. “Oh.” His face wrinkled with distaste. “No, no. He was my best friend in seventh and eighth grade before his mom got a divorce and he had to move.”

New suspicions whirled in Duke’s mind. “So if you can live with them then why didn’t his mom come and get you when your car broke down? Or, at the very least, wire you some money so you could get to them in one piece.” “Damn.” Tyler dug his sneaker into the moist earth beneath their feet. His dark gaze pierced Duke’s. “You don’t miss much, Sheriff, do you?” “Missed you for long enough, that’s for damn sure.” “I was careful,” Tyler replied. “I knew I couldn’t afford to get caught. When you started watching the houses, I had to give that up. I couldn’t figure out exactly where you had your people, and I couldn’t take the chance. That made it hard to find things I could sell, and it made getting food for us riskier too. I had to buy stuff for real every so often so I didn’t look suspicious whenever I was in a store. And then I had to spend money on bus tickets to Ennis to sell the jewelry to some jerk who wouldn’t give me hardly anything for it ’cause I’m a kid and he knows I can’t make a scene. We were running out of food, which is why I was in your friend’s store the other day. The lady at the counter was into her talk with that other lady, so I thought I was okay.” Duke nodded. He ignored the wrench of sympathy that tugged at his middle for this kid, and put him back on track. “That doesn’t tell me how you ended up stuck in these mountains when you have a place waiting for you in Canada.” “We have a place, I really do have a friend. His mom just doesn’t know we’ll be living there, that’s all.” “And how’d you plan to pull that off?” Duke asked. “Just show up and hope to play on her heartstrings?” “No.” The sullen, belligerent kid reappeared, hardening Tyler’s eyes. “Jay’s mom works two jobs and is hardly ever home. Ruby and me were going to live in a shed in her backyard until I could get a job. She never would have known we were there. My friend wanted to come and get us when we first broke down, but he would have had to steal his mom’s car, and he couldn’t do that. This is your fault. If I could have kept getting in those houses for some small jewelry—shit that most people have so much of they don’t even know when it’s gone—I could have gotten enough money for bus tickets to the border, and then train tickets to Yellowknife after I figured out a way to get us into Canada. I had enough for one, but not enough for two. I had to stop because of you.” Ah, so that’s what Tyler had wanted his sister to do if he didn’t come back. Take the money and run to his friend. This kid’s plan had so many holes Duke could drive his truck through it. Every stop along the way had been an opportunity for everything to go wrong—so horrifically wrong. Duke shuddered just thinking about it. He thought it a miracle in itself that the two of them had survived practically living out of doors. “Listen.” Tyler dug his hands into the pockets of the extra jacket Duke kept in his office. The only one Tyler owned, the stolen one, had become evidence upon his arrest. “Can we go now? My sister will get scared without me with her at the hospital.” Max had taken Ruby to the hospital to get a physical, so Duke didn’t worry about the little girl’s safety. He did, however, understand Ty’s concern. “The tow truck should be here soon,” Duke promised. They needed to haul the vehicle into town, and then have it transferred to the crime lab. Cade had called in the exact location of the ’85 Chevy as soon as they had arrived at the scene. “When the car gets hooked up to the truck, then we can go.” “Hey, look at this.” Cade bent down and lifted something into his arms. “This

wouldn’t be the famous Chelsea, would it?” He held up a turquoise eyed, surprisingly clean, calico cat. “That’s her.” The cat mewled and immediately started sniffing all over Cade’s jacket. “I think she smells my dog.” Cade chuckled and handed the cat over to Tyler. They had removed the boy’s cuffs, knowing he wouldn’t run without his sister. Cade pulled out his cell phone and punched in a number. After a moment, he said, “Hey, Doc, listen. The sheriff and I are going to bring a cat by your place within an hour or so. Can you fit in a check up? She’s probably going to need a bunch of shots, and I would guess a flea dip and a de-worming. Can you help me out?” A pause, and then, “No, not a stray exactly, but we do need a little bit of a financial break, if you can provide it.” Duke chuckled. He reached out and pushed Tyler’s mouth closed. “Cade’s an animal guy from way back,” he shared with the boy. “Just close your mouth and let him help.” A horn blared from the road some two hundred yards away. Within a few minutes, Mike appeared through the trees with his crew. “Ah…” His gaze settled on the wedged car. “A challenge.” He rubbed his hands on his coveralls. “Great.” Duke reached out and shook Mike the mechanic’s hand. “It should be fun to pull out. That’s why I had Cade call you.” Mike turned in a circle, studying the wooded mountainside. “We’re gonna need you to get out of our way so we can get to work.” Duke, Cade and Tyler hung around and watched. Duke couldn’t help noticing how with each friendly taunt or ribbing between the men, that occasionally included Cade and Duke, Tyler looked more and more like he had stepped right into the land of Oz. Duke forced himself not to attach, knowing that he could do very little to lessen the blow coming Tyler’s way when convicted for his many crimes. **** Hours later Risa blew into the station, bringing a chilling, brisk wind with her. She bypassed Sarah’s empty desk, pausing at Cade’s. “Can I see the kids?” she asked. She could hardly stand still, and her little flip-pad notebook burned a hot hole in her jacket pocket. “I’d like to talk to them, if I can.” Cade pushed away from his desk. “I guess it would be all right. They’re in the interrogation room. It’s all right”—he held up a hand, halting Risa’s question before she could ask it…”they’re just eating dinner.” Risa followed the big man down a narrow corridor. He glanced over his shoulder at her. “You okay? You look a little flushed.” “Windblown,” Risa corrected. She lifted her hands and patted her chilly cheeks. “We have a bit of a storm kicking up out there. I think it might be the first snow of the year.” Cade rubbed a hand around his neck. His dark, knowing eyes connected with Risa’s. “I feel for the boy going into the system, but at least he’ll be alive. They would not have survived in that car through the entire winter. I know the poor kid couldn’t have lived with himself if he lost his sister to the elements.” “Have faith, Cade.” Risa leaned up and kissed the man on his scarred cheek. “Things always have a way of working out for the best around this place, don’t you think?” She tapped his nose. “Just look at you and Ren. Now, can I see them?” Cade opened the door. “I’ll be watching from the other side of that mirror.” He

pointed. “All right?” “No problem.” Risa took a deep breath and moved into the gray, harshly lit room. Two heads snapped up to her, but only one smiled. Risa mentally shook off her sudden case of nerves and talked herself through the jitters that numbed her fingers and toes, just as she did when she faced her chosen bull before competition. She didn’t kid herself, though. Tonight was so much more important than anything she had ever done in her life up until now. In this, she had no choice but complete success. Just as with Duke, she knew her life would be incomplete without it. Risa drew out the chair on the opposite side of Ruby and Tyler and sat down. She lifted her gaze to the kids, and like with the bulls, she showed no fear, even though inside her heart raced fast enough to make her feel faint. “Hi, guys.” She stuck her hand out across the metal table. “My name is Risa Forrester. We didn’t get officially introduced earlier.” Ruby put her sandwich down first and softly took Risa’s hand. “Hi. My name is Ruby.” She cocked her head to the side. “You have nice hair. Tyler says I have to keep cutting mine off.” “Not anymore, runt,” the boy said. “It doesn’t matter anymore how long your hair is or what color it is. We’re not in hiding anymore.” Pain filled his dark gaze. He looked away for a moment, but when he came back, a fine sheen of moisture still clouded his eyes. “You can grow your hair back as long as you want.” Risa’s attention darted briefly to Ruby, but came back to the teen. “I’d like to talk with you about your situation.” She made a subtle gesture towards Ruby with her head. “Can I be open?” “She knows what I did to get us food and money,” Tyler said. “I never told her that it was right. Just necessary if we had a prayer of staying together. She also knew I’d have to go away if I got caught.” Ruby threw herself at her brother’s side. “I don’t want you to go away.” She wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “They have to take me with you. I stole stuff too.” “No, runt, you didn’t. Don’t lie for me.” Risa’s heart squeezed. “That’s what I want to talk to you about,” she broached gently. The time had come. For the second time, going purely on her gut, her life changed forever, right here. “I want to discuss making restitution to the people you stole from. I want to hear that you’re willing to do just about anything your victims want in order to make these charges go away. Because if you are, I think I can get you out of this mess. I’m also very hopeful that I’ve found a way to keep you guys together forever.” She pulled out her notepad and flipped to the first page. She looked up at Tyler. “So, are you interested?”

Chapter Twenty-Six Risa held her breath and waited for Tyler to make the next move. Tyler studied her, a belligerent stubbornness narrowing his eyes. “Who are you anyway?” he finally asked, breaking the small standoff. “Why the hell do you care where I end up?” “I already told you who I am. My name is Risa. I care where you end up because you and your sister remind me of me and my brother in a lot of ways, and it made me feel an immediate connection to the two of you.” She leveled a stare on the boy. “At this point, does it really matter why someone wants to help you? Can you afford to ignore me?” She crossed her arms against her chest, all tough-like, but on the inside her stomach felt a little queasy. She rubbed her sweating palms on her jeans and didn’t let the teen see her sweat. “Do you want the opportunity to save yourself, or not? It’s up to you.” Tyler pushed his chair back and slumped down, affecting a familiar “I’m so tough I don’t give a shit about anything” stance that conflicted completely with the open fear in his eyes. “So go ahead,” he finally grumbled. “Tell me your plan.” “It’s not a plan,” Risa shared. “It would be a verbal contract wherein you agree to provide services equal to whatever you stole from each individual, and in return they will agree not to testify against you should the DA insist on pressing charges—which, with the non violent nature of your crimes, I don’t believe they will. If the DA does persist, I think he or she would agree to probation, which allows you to stay with your sister.” Tyler straightened up just a little bit. “What would I have to do for these people?” He didn’t make direct eye contact, but he chewed his fingernail so hard Risa knew she had his full attention. Risa flipped her notepad open and started to read. “Okay, let’s see. Mrs. Drasdon will be going in for a complete hip replacement surgery very soon. She’s retired and can’t afford to bring someone in to clean her home while she recovers. For two months, in exchange for stealing her pearl ring, you’re going to keep her house clean. This involves vacuuming, dusting, scouring the bathroom, stuff like that. It goes without saying that you’ll have whatever supervision each person deems necessary on all of these jobs. Mr. and Mrs. Ganta—you took a gold bracelet and earring set from them—have thought about repainting the exterior of their house for a while, but couldn’t get motivated to do it. They’re going to provide the paint, and you’re going to provide labor, starting with pressure washing the house first so that it’s nice and prepped for the new paintjob.” Risa looked up from her notebook with a funny little smile on her face. “Here’s kind of a weird one, but Mrs. Olsen asked if you were a good looking boy. I told her I thought so, and when I did she said she would forgive you taking her amethyst pendant if you took her granddaughter to the senior winter formal dance this year.” Risa’s cheeks tinged with heat. “I went ahead and took the liberty of telling her you would. Her granddaughter is a very sweet girl, she just happens to be painfully shy and a little bit on the solid side, which, excuse me, but I don’t happen to think is a failing or a reason for her not to have a date for the biggest dance of the year.” “No, of course not.” Tyler looked as if he dodged the accusation for himself, so Risa

backed off her soapbox. She went on with her list, the only hitch being the dry cleaner, who would only accept full financial reimbursement for his loss, as he had already had to pay his customers for the clothing Tyler had stolen. Risa looked up at the teen. “If you agree to this list, I will pay him the money, and in exchange he won’t testify against you either. As reimbursement, you’ll come and work for me at Nate’s until I am paid back in full.” She pushed the notepad across the table to Tyler and let the boy flip through the pages himself. “This is a long list of work that is going to tie you up for the better part of a year, but if you not only agree, but follow through, I feel good about your chances for staying out of the system. If you flake out, these people will reverse their generous decision, and your second chance goes away. So, what do you say?” “How did you get all these people to do this?” “Truth?” “Yeah.” “I played on their sympathies. I explained about your sister, and why you did what you did. I also told them about your mother.” Heat flamed her cheeks as she met Tyler’s gaze. “Sorry that I didn’t ask for permission first, but I figured you’d rather this than ending up behind bars.” “They’d probably end up hearing all about it anyway, so I guess it’s okay.” Tyler’s fingers paused as he turned through the pages. “There’s something I don’t see listed here.” His dark gaze finally connected with hers. “What about what I took from you? And…” His chin wavered, and he stopped for a long moment. “…the other thing I did to you. What do I have to do for you?” “A couple of things.” Risa shifted her focus and drew Ruby back into the conversation. “Maybe the hardest thing of all, or possibly the easiest; it all depends upon the two of you. First, you don’t run. I know a woman who used to foster children when she lived in Billings, and she has agreed to petition to get the right to foster both of you. Her name is Mavis Pritchard, and she is a wonderful woman. When you meet her, don’t let her age fool you, she is sharper than just about everyone else in this town put together. Second, we’re going to get you enrolled in our local schools, and I want you both to promise me that you’ll go. I speak from personal experience when I say I know how hard it is to enter into a new school where you don’t know anyone. I understand the fear of entering a place where it looks like all the other kids have known each other forever. I know it will be a challenge, but my payment is that you stick it out and help each other through. If you can agree to do those two things for me, they won’t have me as a witness in the assault charge either.” “So let’s say I do all this stuff.” Tyler slid the notebook across the table. Risa caught it under the palm of her hand before it careened to the floor. “What’s in it for you, lady? You get some kind of do-gooder trophy and get to brag to all your neighbors about how you helped the pathetic kids with the druggie mom who got killed by her pimp? Maybe you get to go on Oprah and get called a hero, something like that?” Risa took a deep breath. She had to get this absolutely right. “I’m hoping to get two things out of this,” she said. Her gaze didn’t waver, and her voice held, strong and even. She stayed more focused on Tyler, knowing he held the key to whether or not this would happen. “In time, with the good lord willing, I want the two of you. I’d like to adopt you.” She smiled, pushing through the tightness of nerves constricting her chest. “The

both of you.” Ruby sat up with a huge smile for about a half a second, but then turned to Tyler. As Risa had suspected, she would take her cue from her brother. How well she already knew this older brother/younger sister dynamic. Tyler snorted, looking Risa over with cynical disdain. “Yeah right. No offense, but you can’t barely pass as my older sister, let alone my mother. Nobody’s going to let a lady like you adopt two kids like us.” “You’d be surprised at how often I get what I put my mind to, Tyler.” Risa stood up and showed him the one thing that might impress him. She framed her low waist with her hands. “I won this buckle for riding the rankest darn bull working right now in the minor PBR series. I beat out forty-four other men and took top prize at one of the biggest events on the tour.” “Oooh.” Ruby leaned forward in her chair. “That’s pretty.” Tyler didn’t move, but the hardness bracketing his mouth did lessen some. “Did you really win that riding bulls?” His eyes narrowed, slipping back to disbelief. “Name the bull you covered in the short go.” Ah, she found her first link to the teen. “Well, I can’t say I covered Chicken on a Chain or anything, but I did ride a helluva feisty guy named Dante’s Inferno. Give him another year or two and he’ll be trying to buck off guys like Adriano Moraes and Guilherme Marchi in the Built Ford Tough PBR series.” The first hint of a smile tilted the edge of Tyler’s mouth. “No shit. You really do know what you’re talking about.” “Darn straight I do. And not only that, but on the days I don’t ride or help out at Nate’s I work on a local ranch for a pretty cool guy who just happens to be working with bucking bulls himself. As soon as we get you guys cleared through child services and hopefully into Mavis’s care, I’ll take you out to see them.” She turned to Ruby. “Both of you. My brother also owns a horse ranch with his partner, so if bulls aren’t your taste, we can teach you to ride a horse instead.” Tyler’s smile fell from his face. “So this isn’t a done deal yet.” He wrapped his arm around his sister and pulled her to his side. “You’re telling us things that you don’t even know you can do. They might tell this lady she’s too old to take us in, and they'll still separate us, just like what we ran to avoid. I could still go to juvie. Even if I don’t, and this woman does get us, I still say there ain’t no judge in the world that’s gonna let you adopt us, especially since you didn’t even know we existed before today.” Risa fought a desire to shake the boy and hug him at the same time. She knew he wouldn’t appreciate either gesture right now. “Have a little faith. Mavis Pritchard knows how to make things happen. As soon as she gets the okay from the sheriff that he has contacted child services in regards to you, she’ll get in touch with the people she has maintained a friendship with within the organization. She will get the ball rolling and have things done before they even know what hit them.” Tyler shook his head, sending his shaggy hair almost over his eyes. “Too much stuff has to go our way, lady, and that don’t tend to happen to people like me and Ruby.” “People like you and Ruby are just like people like me and my brother Luke, so don’t say good stuff can’t happen to us because I know it can, and does.” God, Risa sometimes wondered if the entire male population consisted of a bunch of pessimistic worriers. At Tyler’s stubbornness, she added, “At the very least, you’re going to work

hard and we’re going to work our hardest to keep you out of a juvenile facility. Start with being happy about that. One day at a time, Tyler, that’s the best any of us can hope to do.” “Come on, Tyler.” Ruby tugged on his arm. “I don’t want to live outside no more. Chelsea doesn’t either. She’s tired of being scared all the time ’cause of the animals making noises outside the car when it gets real dark. She wants to sleep in a bed and have a fluffy pillow, and be able to watch cartoons.” Tightness clogged Risa’s throat at the little girl’s words. Pain etched lines into Tyler’s young face, marking him as a boy who’d had to become a man before his time. Stricken and guilty, he turned to Risa. “Okay, you do whatever you have to do to get us with this Mavis lady. Tell the sheriff and all those people I’ll do whatever they want, and I’ll even apologize to all of them in person if you think it’ll make a difference to the DA and social worker.” “Well, I think you should say you’re sorry because it’s the right thing to do.” Risa pushed back from the table and stood up, her mind in a thousand different places at once thinking of the million things she had to do. “But ultimately, I suppose that’s up to you. “Okay, I need to get going. I have to talk to the sheriff, and I still need to see Mavis one more time tonight.” Both kids looked completely dazed, and Risa had to stamp down the urge to comfort with a hug once again. “Listen, guys, I know this is scary and that I’ve dropped a lot of stuff on you in one sitting, but I had to move fast. Once everything settles down, I will visit you at Mavis’s so that we can start getting comfortable with each other. You can come to my place and get to know me, my family, and what I like, while at the same time I can get to know the both of you. If push comes to shove and you absolutely hate me and can’t stand the thought of me adopting you, then we’ll find a way to make sure you stay with Mavis until Tyler is of age and can assume responsibility for the both of you. All right?” “I like you already,” Ruby said, straightening away from her brother. “As long as we can keep my cat.” Risa smiled at the girl, her heart already invested so much more than she knew it should be. She couldn’t help it though, she’d responded wholeheartedly to Duke in the exact same way. “I think we can do that.” She winked and stuck out her hand, very proper and business like. “Do we have a deal?” Ruby moved around the table and clasped her little hand lightly in Risa’s. “Deal.” She shook on it, and went right back to her brother. “’Night, Tyler.” Risa only waved to the teen, knowing that at this point he would rebuff anything more. “I’ll be back tomorrow and we’ll talk some more. Okay?” Tyler only nodded. Risa understood. Her throat felt a little tight too. “Goodnight,” she added, and slipped out of the room. Once in the hallway, she turned and found Duke leaning against the wall, waiting for her, practically vibrating with visible anger. Oh, crap.

Chapter Twenty-Seven One look at the fire burning in Duke’s eyes and Risa knew he had heard every word she’d spoken to the children. She should have known he would be close by, but in her excitement to talk with the kids she hadn’t let it enter her mind. In hindsight, maybe she should have talked to him first. “I can tell that you’re upset.” “Upset?” Duke hissed. His voice registered in that dangerously low octave, and his hands fisted into tight knots at his side. Risa knew he fought the urge to shake her. “Upset?” He leaned down right in her face, the sparks of his anger charging the air around them. “How dare you act so irresponsibly with the lives of two children. I wanted to charge right in there and yank you out on the spot. Cade grabbed me before I did and reminded me that I didn’t want to frighten those kids with my anger. Their circumstances have already put them through enough of an emotional upheaval to last them a lifetime without having you come in here like a ray of sunshine on their darkest days telling them you’re going to get those charges dropped against that boy. You have no control over that, Risa, and neither do the victims, or even me, for that matter. The DA decides how to proceed, and he might want to press charges anyway.” Risa pushed through the stab of truth Duke spoke, her heart too involved to back down now. “It is highly doubtful the DA will take this boy to court without any angry victims to put on the stand. It won’t be worth his time or the taxpayers’ money. Even if he did insist, you know I told Tyler right. If the DA doesn’t let it go completely, he’ll surely accept probation when he sees the extenuating circumstances, along with Tyler’s willingness to make restitution. You know that, so don’t pretend you don’t.” Duke just barely dipped his head in acknowledgement of her point. “So even if you get that, what the hell are you doing talking about adopting them and making their world all shiny and new? What in the hell will you do when you can’t back up your claim with a deed?” His volatile emotions immediately juiced hers. “Oh, I’m gonna back it up with action,” she assured heatedly. “I’ll be on the Internet tonight looking into adopting foster children and what steps I have to take to make it happen. Once we get through this first stage and get those kids into Mavis’s custody I’ll contact a lawyer specializing in adoption and find out exactly what I need to do.” “You haven’t even gotten them into Mrs. Pritchard’s care yet, and you’re already thinking about moving them on to yours.” Duke shot her an incredulous look. “How in the hell did you know to drag Mavis into this madness with you anyway?” Risa looked him up and down with disbelief of her own. “Don’t you ever read the birthday and Christmas cards she displays on that wall by the cash register at the diner?” Duke shook his head, a little sheepishly, she thought. He raised a dark brow. “Clearly I don’t.” “She gets a few from a couple of former foster kids. One of the guys is in the military, stationed in Italy. I wondered about that card in particular when I saw it, so I asked her about it. She told me all about how when she lived in Billings she and her

husband used to foster kids, since God never blessed them with any of their own. When he passed and she moved here to live near her cousin she gave it up, but she has always maintained her certification, because to quote her, ‘you never know when you might need it.’ Thank God she did. I need it, those kids definitely need it, and she’s excited to help. She even knows a lawyer. She’s going to see if she can call in a favor so I can ask him some questions for free.” “Christ, Risa, do you even hear yourself?” Duke paced down the overly bright hallway, his hands making deep forays into his dark hair. He turned and came back to her, the line of his jaw more set in stone than ever. “This is insane. What in the hell makes you think you can adopt two kids? Do you have any idea what you’re getting yourself in for?” His lack of faith hurt her heart, but Risa stubbornly lifted her chin. “You did it.” “I had an entirely different situation.” She watched Duke’s hackles rise to protect the sanctity of his relationship with Ren. “I married his mother, and I was already a parent to him at that point. I didn’t just pick him out of a lineup because he looked like he needed someone to love him.” With an ounce less control over her emotions, Risa would have stomped her foot into the floor and demanded that he believe in her. Instead, she closed the gap between them and grabbed his arm, willing him to feel her certainty. “I know I can do this, Duke. I feel it in my gut.” “Oh, well, as long as you feel it in your gut then it will automatically work out.” Risa froze. A chill raised goose bumps on her arms under her jacket, as if she had no clothing on at all. She straightened to her full height and looked right into his eyes. “I felt the same thing seven years ago on the day I fell in love with you.” His pupils flared, and his lips thinned down to a hard line. Fine. He might want to deny that her gut never steered her wrong, but she damn well would not. “I wasn’t wrong then, Duke, even if you’re too stubborn to let us be together. I’m not wrong now either. I will get those kids, I know it in my heart.” “So you’ve finally found the thing that’s more important than bull riding.” His jaw ticked visibly. “I figured it must be out there. Good for you.” She reared back. “This doesn’t have anything to do with my bull riding.” Duke leaned against the wall and crossed his arms against his chest, suddenly the picture of secret knowledge and confidence. “Something’s going to have to go if you plan on being a parent, and I can’t believe you’d ever give up Nate’s place.” “Nothing has to go.” She would not let him intimidate her into backing off what she knew in her heart. She had a destiny to fulfill with these kids, just as she did with Duke. “I can cut back a little bit on everything and make room in my life for these children, but that doesn’t mean I have to give up anything completely. There’s room inside me for it all to coexist; working on the ranch, Nate’s place, riding bulls, those kids.” She met his intense stare. “And you.” Heat flared between them for a split second, but Duke threw a wet towel over it quickly. “You feel this way now. But what about when you need the next fix to make you feel alive, Risa?” Resignation and cynicism rolled off Duke in powerful waves, bashing against her heart. “You want, you want, you want, more and more and more. And each of those things, or people, aren’t supposed to care about the other stuff that you keep adding to your life, aren’t supposed to get scared or worry that you could get hurt, or that you’re

stretching yourself too thin. When will it be enough for you? Bull riding doesn’t do it, and I for damn sure didn’t do it for you, so what will happen to those kids when it’s not them either?” Risa slapped him, cracking her hand across his cheek with every ounce of strength in her arm. His head whipped to the side, but he hardly wavered. She fisted her throbbing palm, fighting down the urge to hit him again. She met his shocked amber gaze, and hoped like hell he saw the rage blazing in hers. “Don’t you dare put your insecurities and hang-ups on me and those kids. You think you have the perfect life because you’re our fearless buttoned-up sheriff, respected by all, and almost always in control. I challenge every damn bit of the status quo in your staid existence, and that scares you to death, so you fall back to trying to control me in order to put everything back in its proper place so that you feel safe. Well I’m sorry, Duke, but there isn’t anything safe or controllable about me. None of that really matters, though. The only thing that does is your stubborn belief that I’m just like your goddamned exwife who left you holding all the cards because she needed her drugs more than she wanted you. I could never love anything or anyone better than you, but I have a big heart and a wide-open life, and there’s plenty of room for me to love other people, and for other things to excite me, without having to push you aside. Until you can wrap your stubborn mule of a brain around that, don’t come and find me late at night anymore. I’m no longer available for sex with a man who won't open his heart to me as deeply as I’ve done for him. “Now…” She dug into her pocket and thrust her notebook against his chest. Silently, he grabbed it before it dropped to the floor. She didn’t think she’d ever seen him more statue-like in her life. “Here is the list of everyone Tyler stole from, and what they want in exchange for giving him a second chance. I’ll get in touch with them all tomorrow and let them know Tyler has agreed to their requests. I’m sure you want to contact them yourself. Be my guest. I don’t believe a single one of them will change their minds. I’ll be back with Mavis tomorrow morning to introduce her to the kids. Goodnight, Duke. If this is truly the end for us…” Her heart constricted and her throat clamped down, trying desperately to make her push down her words. Risa fought through the pain and tightness, knowing she had to finish. “Then I wish you nothing but the best. Goodbye.” She ran out of the station before he could see the tears streaming down her face. * Duke slid down the hallway wall, all strength abandoning him. He drew his knees up and clasped his hands together, holding Risa’s bright turquoise notepad pressed between his palms. He had finally done it this time. He drove her away and lost her for good. Christ, he had hurt her so deeply. He’d seen it in her eyes. He had stood there, frozen, wanting to steal his cutting words back the moment they’d left his mouth, but had found himself paralyzed to react while she ripped him a new asshole. Why in the hell did he always have to push her like that? Why couldn’t he just love her and leave it at that? He wanted to. Christ, he wanted to, but every time he let go a little bit, something new happened and he slipped right back into “jerk” mode, treating her as a child rather than a woman who knew her own heart and mind. He didn’t want to behave that way, and he certainly didn’t see her as a girl. Yet every time he got within touching distance of her she fired him up so completely that the edit button often failed to go off inside him, something he so easily controlled with everyone else. Risa brought out

the deepest passions in him that he so often banked for the sake of his job and position in the town, making him forget his sense of decency half the goddamned time they shared the same breathing space. He shook his head in disgust, knowing he couldn’t use that as an excuse for the way he’d spoken to her tonight, even if he believed in the basics of what he’d said. She didn’t know what lay ahead for her with her impulsive plan, she hadn’t done enough research before blurting out her feelings and telling those kids her plan. He’d focused on the kids, and would continue to do so, but deeper than that he didn’t want to see her devastated when things didn’t work out the way she viewed through her rose-colored glasses. Damn it. He wanted to protect her more than anything else in the world, and yet every time he got near her he ended up screwing up and hurting her even more. Not that it mattered any more. She’d given up on him for good tonight. He could see it in her eyes. They were over. One didn’t come back from behavior such as his. He couldn’t very well expect a vibrant, open woman like Risa to forgive and forget, when he couldn’t do it himself. Duke slammed his fist into the wall, frustration and anger at himself welling from his core. He had never felt more sure than right now that he’d just lost the very best thing to ever happen to him. Too late. As with all of his relationships, Duke never could seem to open his eyes and see where he’d gone wrong until it was too damn late to fix it. He had no earthly idea how to get her back. **** Duke lifted his gaze from a final glance at the last signature needed to start a kid on a new life. “You got lucky, Ty.” The teen sat across from Duke in his office, already sporting a haircut that didn’t seem entire comfortable to him yet. He kept fingering the edges of his forehead, as if he expected to brush locks out of his face every time he moved his head. “Not very many people get their slate wiped almost clean, and are given a second chance to do better for themselves and their family.” With a lot of explaining the boy’s situation, Duke had convinced the DA to drop the series of petty theft charges. He’d not had such luck with the assault charge. No matter how hard Duke tried to sell Tyler’s circumstances the DA wouldn’t let that more serious charge go. As a favor to Duke, the DA had driven to Quinten and spent a long afternoon closed up with Tyler, then afterward chatting with Duke. In the end, he’d agreed to probation and community service, so long as Tyler followed through on every job he’d agreed to take on for his individual victims. From Duke’s standpoint, the fact that Tyler was still legally a minor meant that, if the kid kept his word, when he turned eighteen he would have a clean slate as far as the law was concerned. Duke gave Tyler a long stare. “Don’t make the DA regret his decision, kid. Trust me, you don’t want that guy working to put you in jail. He’s very good.” Tyler nodded. “I understand.” His hand went up to move hair off his forehead again. Length that no longer existed. “I’m not gonna throw it away, Sheriff. I don’t want my sister ever sleeping in a car again.” “I don’t imagine you do.” Ruby waited outside in the bullpen with Risa, Mrs. Pritchard, and a state social worker. The paperwork completed, Mavis would foster the kids, and already had the cat settled in her home. Mrs. Pritchard had talked the social worker into staying for a thank

you lunch at the diner. Mavis just had a way about her that made people want to stick around. Duke sobered. Risa did too. Pain lanced through him, but he forced it down, promising himself that it would get better with time. Only a week had passed since she’d walked out on him for good. When he no longer saw her every day here at the station he would begin to get back to the routine he’d had before she’d whirled into his life and taken over his heart and mind. Funny how that structured daily schedule that he had lived by for so long suddenly looked gray and endless, a long road without a lot of light or smiles to make it brighter. Duke shook it off, and looked up at Tyler. “You will find it a challenge to assimilate to rules and adult supervision after having been on your own for so long.” He didn’t have to say the words to know the kid understood he didn’t just mean the time they’d spent on the run. “If you get angry and you don’t know how to deal with it, find my front door before you blow a gasket, okay? I pretty much live here at the station, and any one of us can teach you how to hit a punching bag or spar a few rounds in the place they turned into a gym next door, rather than taking it out on another person. Deputy McKenna, or Deputy Maxwell, or … me. I’m always available, even if you just have a question, or want to talk, or don’t know where to go and need something to do. Can you do that for me?” Tyler paled, but he nodded. The kid probably felt boxed in on all sides after having no one care what he thought or did for pretty much his entire life. Ruby would likely prove a challenge, but be open with her anger and her fear. Duke worried that this one had already started turning all of his emotions inside, stuffing them down in order to survive. Ty would be a lot harder to crack than Ruby. Again, Duke feared that Risa—no matter how good her intentions or sincere her heart—didn’t understand the magnitude of taking on the discipline, financial, and emotional wellbeing of two children who had experienced none of those things in their life up to this point. A knock sounded at Duke’s door. “Enter.” Cade stuck his head in. “The little one’s stomach is growling, but she won’t leave without Tyler.” His dark gaze lit knowingly on Duke. “You guys about finished?” Duke looked to Tyler. “We’re good. Right?” A host of unspoken challenges laced those three little words. “Yeah.” Tyler nodded, stiffly, but he got it done. “We’re good.” “All right.” Duke stood up and stuck out his hand. “Good luck to you, Ty. I don’t ever want to see you in my station in an official capacity again.” “No, sir.” Tyler shook Duke’s hand. He gave a solid hold, one of someone very nearly a man. “Like I said, I won’t risk being separated from my sister again.” The kid needed to want to stay clean for himself, but Duke figured that conversation would have to remain for another day. “Go ahead then.” He followed Ty and Cade to the door. “You already know how good the food is that’s waiting for you at the…” His focus immediately found Risa down on her knees playing a hand-slapping game with Ruby. She looked up at him, freezing, and Ruby smacked her hand before she could pull it away. “Got you!” Ruby held up her hand for a high-five. A long, heated stare charged the air, connecting Duke to Risa, even from a dozen feet away. Christ, he missed her. He took a step to go to her, but Risa abruptly tore her

gaze away from him and gave Ruby’s hand a slap, putting her full attention back on the child. As it should be. Duke halted his step, instead leaning against the doorframe to his office. He watched them all file out of the station in a big group, his gut twisting when Risa didn’t turn back to him. Ty did. Duke lifted his hand and gave the kid a small wave. The teen didn’t wave back, but he nodded his head just the slightest bit in acknowledgement, and Duke did the same. Cade stared at the group leaving too. He widened his stance, crossing his arms against his chest. “That’s why I refused to have contact with Ren while I tried to get over him.” He didn’t look at Duke or make it appear as if they shared a conversation at all. “Too hard to tell yourself you don’t still care when you cross paths with them every day.” Duke finally ripped his gaze away from the empty door. “What?” Cade’s focus remained on the door. “Problem is, when the love is real it doesn’t go away, no matter if you’re together or apart. You’ll figure that out, as I had to do.” He finally did look at Duke, and the empathetic understanding in Cade’s dark eyes reminded Duke why he felt so fortunate his son had this man as his partner. “I just hope it doesn’t take you as long to reach that conclusion as it took me.” Cade clasped Duke firmly on the shoulder, dipped his head, and moved to his desk. Duke went back into his office and shut the door. He had never felt so alone in his life.

Chapter Twenty-Eight Risa helped Ruby into her coat while Mavis grabbed some snacks to fill her purse, declaring that she absolutely refused to pay movie theater prices for candy bars she sold in her own diner. While they waited outside, Risa glanced at Ty. “You sure you won’t get bored watching a cartoon?” she asked. The latest Pixar animated feature awaited them. Unfortunately for Ty their movie theater had only one other film from which to choose. “Mavis can take Ruby and we can go see the other one, if you want.” Ty raised a brow. “A chick flick?” He scrunched his face. “No, thanks. I’d rather see the cartoon.” “Or you could hang out with me for a while,” Duke’s deep voice resonated through Risa. All of their heads whipped up to the sheriff, where he had come up behind them. She felt him assess her with his gaze, but he quickly turned his attention to Tyler. “I’m just going to grab a pizza and watch the hockey game, but you’re welcome to hang out with me, Ty.” He looked back to Risa then. “That is, if Mrs. Pritchard and Risa give their permission.” “Fine with me,” Mavis chirped as she joined them. Her shock of orange hair blew brightly on the brisk breeze. “Evening, Sheriff.” “Evening, Mrs. Pritchard.” Duke tipped the brim of his Stetson in the older woman’s direction. He turned his gaze back on Risa. As always, it still made her heart race. “How about you, Ris? Is it all right with you if Ty catches a hockey game on the tube with me? I’ll have him home to Mrs. Pritchard’s before it gets too late.” “We’re spending the night with Risa tonight,” Ruby shared. She bounced up and down like a little jackrabbit. “’Cause we get to go out and see the bulls and horses tomorrow on account of it being Saturday and we don’t have to go to school.” Duke smiled at the girl. “Well, Risa knows a lot about animals and ranches, so I know you’ll have a great day.” Once again, he came back to Risa. She felt caressed by his stare and had to rub her hand against the fine hairs on the back of her neck to get the sensation of his touch off her. Duke said, “I can just as easily bring him to your place instead of Mrs. Pritchard’s. What do you say?” Risa turned to the teen, who often appeared to exhibit kindness towards her out of gratitude, rather than due to any sense of getting comfortable with her yet. He wasn’t a child though, and he needed to know she didn’t intend to treat him like one. “Your call, Tyler.” She shrugged her shoulders. “You want to go with the sheriff and watch a game?” She leaned in and mock whispered, “In case it matters he happens to have one of those big screen TV’s.” Tyler looked to Duke, Risa, and Mavis, uncertainty clouding his dark eyes. Finally, he squatted down next to his sister and took her hand. “Will you be all right by yourself if I go with the sheriff for a few hours?” The little girl’s pale gaze widened to saucers. Risa put her hand on Ruby’s head,

rubbing the hacked stuff and then squeezing her slender shoulder. Tension eased from Ruby’s wiry body, and from over her head, Risa saw her grin at her brother. “I’ll be fine. I’m not a baby. Remember?” “Right.” Tyler stood back up and cuffed his sister on her arm. “I forgot. You’re a runt.” “I am not that either!” Ruby slugged Tyler right back, punching him in the wrist. “You’re the only one who calls me that, so you can just stop.” “Retreat, Ty.” Duke chuckled. “It’s your only course of action.” Tyler nodded. He looked to Risa as he moved to Duke’s side. “I think I’ll go with the sheriff then.” Banked excitement shined through the teen’s eyes beneath the natural caution she always saw there, and that made her want to throw her arms around Duke and kiss him senseless. Risa dug the heels of her boots into the sidewalk and forced her legs to lock into place. Great kindness existed in Duke, she’d always known that. She now understood that just because she saw it in him and it touched her heart, that didn’t mean they should jump right back into bed. “That’s fine. I’ll wait up for you. We’ll see you around eleven, okay?” Duke said, “Sounds good.” He gestured for Tyler to follow him, and as they paused on the sidewalk, waiting for a truck to pass so they could cross the street, Risa heard Duke ask, “So, Ty, do they have a decent football team down at the high school yet?” Risa didn’t hear Ty’s answer as the men crossed the street. It didn’t matter. The question alone brought tears to her eyes. She discreetly wiped them away and got back to Ruby, knowing for a certainty that Ty couldn’t be in better hands. **** “Thanks for inviting me,” Ty murmured, drawing Duke’s attention briefly from the road. “I liked the pizza, and your son is nice. So is his boyfriend… I mean the deputy… I mean, Cade.” The kid suddenly sat up and turned a horrified look on Duke. “Shit.” He threw himself back against the seat of the truck and grabbed his head. Duke chuckled. “It’s all right. As long as you have good intentions, they don’t care what you call them. It can be confusing to find a term that is politically correct and pleasing to everyone, and they know that. As long as you can respect that they love each other, they don’t waste a lot of energy making a fuss over labels.” “My friend in Yellowknife,” Ty said, “I think he’s gay. He never said nothing, but I just, I don’t know, I think he is. It don’t really matter to me. He was the only person who ever talked to me in school, the only one who ever said ‘I’m sorry about your shitty life, Tyler, and I wish you had something better.’ He never judged the shithole we lived in, and never made it seem like he’d get a disease when he came to our place. If that’s gay people, then they’re okay with me.” “There’s good and bad, just like in any other walk of life or culture,” Duke corrected gently. “And while I have you”—they had very nearly reached town…”I know it’s hard to curb a habit, but you might want to watch the variations of ‘shit’ while you’re around Mavis and Risa. Cursing exists for a reason, and you’re adult enough that I don’t oppose you using it, but my thought is the less you use it the more effective it is when you do.” Tyler withdrew, backing himself into the passenger side door. “Sorry.” “Don’t apologize.” Damn it, he had not meant to make the kid feel judged. “I tend to

overuse it myself sometimes, although I do try to corral it around certain folks. It’s just a suggestion. You’re welcome to take it or not.” Tyler stuck his hands into his pockets and tucked his chin against his chest. He chewed on his lip as he glanced at Duke out of the corner of his eye. “But you think Risa will like me better if I stop cussing.” Tyler’s fear reached across the air and sank right into Duke’s pores, soaking him in the boy’s confusion, uncertainty, and fear of hope. “It’s not a matter of liking you better, Ty. Risa already likes you just fine.” He spared the teen a fast look, his heart swelling as he noticed Tyler had pulled out of his retreat from the corner of the truck. “I imagine she has shown you in a lot of ways over the last few weeks just how much she likes both you and your sister.” “Ruby’s easy to like,” Ty answered, his voice a little bit gruff. “She’s little, and she’s cute, and she’s real smart, even though we didn’t go to school for all that time while on the run.” Christ, Duke hated nothing more than seeing a confused child who didn’t think anybody really wanted him. “There’s a lot to admire about you too, kid,” Duke promised. “Trust me when I say Risa respects the reasoning behind what you did to keep you and your sister together, even if the way you went about it could have used a lot of fine tuning.” “I guess you know a lot about her, huh?” Duke’s chest constricted. The loss of her in his life grew more painful every day. “I know a fair amount.” His voice sounded unnaturally tight to his ears so he cleared his throat. “But I don’t ever mistake knowing stuff about her as the same thing as understanding her. Women are a puzzle a man can never complete. Don’t trust a man who tries to tell you different.” “You guys broke up?” Duke shot the kid a shocked glance. Tyler quickly said, “You gotta watch people a lot when you have to steal from them but can’t afford to get caught. I seen stuff while hiding in the shadows that I bet would shock even you.” Tyler got a little twinkle in his eyes that made Duke think he probably didn’t want to know. “Anyhow, I saw you and her kissing a bunch of times so I know you had somethin’ going with her. Only now I don’t see you together no more.” “Anymore,” Duke automatically corrected. “And no, we aren’t together anymore.” “How come?” Duke pulled through the narrow break between storefronts to the back entrance of Risa’s place. As he eased the truck to a stop, he killed the engine before he turned to Tyler. “We had a hard time seeing eye to eye on some pretty important stuff. Unfortunately, sometimes differences of opinions in two strong-willed people are just too hard to overcome.” Tyler nodded. His eyes shone with regret, and for once, he looked much younger than his sixteen years. “Is it because of me and Ruby?” he asked softly. “Is it because she’s all gung-ho to adopt us, and you didn’t want to?” The kid’s words punched Duke right in the gut. “No. Oh my God, Ty, no, that’s not what happened at all. Please, don’t ever think that. Nothing could be further from the truth. We had shakiness from the start of our relationship. Our parting ways didn’t have anything to do with you and Ruby. Please don’t put that burden on yourself.” This kid

had taken on the responsibility for everything in his and Ruby’s world for practically his entire young life. He didn’t need Duke’s issues too. “Let that thought go right now. It’s not one you should hold.” Before Tyler could respond, knuckles rapped on the window behind him, sending the kid flying out of his seat. A second later Risa’s face appeared through the glass. Tyler forewent opening the window, and went right for the door. Risa stepped back, her gaze darting between Tyler and Duke. “I heard the truck, but then nobody knocked. Is everything all right?” “Just clearing up a misunderstanding,” Duke answered. His gaze connected with Tyler’s. “Right?” Tyler nodded. “We’re good.” He turned to Risa. “Is Ruby still awake?” “Yeah.” Risa rubbed and squeezed Tyler’s arm. It tugged at Duke’s heart, knowing well of Risa’s natural instinct to hug people when she greeted them, but holding back for Ty’s sake. “She can barely keep her eyes open, but she won’t go down without you.” “I’ll go sit with her for a while.” Tyler dipped his head and gave Duke a small wave. “Thanks for inviting me, Sheriff. You have a nice family and a nice house. Bye.” “Anyti…” The teen disappeared inside before Duke could speak the entire one word invitation. Duke finally let his gaze drift to Risa. Dressed in familiar blue pajama bottoms and a thermal undershirt, a dull ache spread through Duke’s core at how very much he missed merely being in this woman’s presence, let alone her bed. He ate her up with his eyes, the memory of removing those very clothes from her and taking her against her foyer wall assaulting his senses, rousing his cock to quick, hard life. Christ, she always did. The urge to pull her into his truck and mold his lips to hers had Duke sliding across the leather seat to the open door. Risa moved out of his reach and kept going until her back hit the brick wall by the door. Her green eyes lit bright under the outdoor lantern hanging above her, openly showing hurt, trepidation, but most clearly, familiar determination. He started to climb out of the truck. “Risa.” “No, Duke, please.” She threw up her hands, warding him off. “I can’t keep starting things with you, hoping I’ll get a different result if I can only find the right combination of sex and loving you to make you come around to my way of thinking. I don’t regret a minute of us being together, but I realize now how incredibly naïve and stupid it was of me to think I could get you that way.” Duke shrank back against the seat, caving inside. “It wasn’t stupid, Risa.” Anger and hurt welled in his chest, making him short of breath. “Don’t say that. Please don’t say you feel stupid for letting yourself love me.” “Not for loving you.” Risa shook her head. “But to think it would be enough, or worse, to think I had the right to ask you to change who you are, when I refuse to do the same for you. I won’t give up bull riding, and I for damn sure won’t give up trying to get these kids—or who knows what else when it comes up next. Now I see that it’s just as wrong for me to ask you to change a fundamental part of your personality in order to be with me, or to open up about your past when you so clearly cannot let yourself do it. I grew up reading romance novels and believing that couples always find a way to their happily ever after. But now I know that what other people with more experience have told me is true: sometimes people can’t, or even shouldn’t, overcome their differences. I

see now that’s us. Goodnight, Duke, and goodbye. Please don’t fight me and make this harder.” Duke sprang out of the car and grabbed Risa, powerless to stop himself. “Please, wait.” He wrapped her up in his arms, holding her so tight he didn’t think he could breathe, let alone her. He couldn’t let go, though, and whispered next to her ear, “I’m sorry.” He grazed his lips across her cool skin to her temple, leaving a kiss there before moving to her high cheekbone and doing the same, finally inhaling, breathing her very essence in before finding her mouth. “I spoke to you cruelly at the station that night. I behaved unforgivably harshly when I only wanted to explain to you that it will be very difficult to adopt two children, and that you needed to know that.” Holding her face, he clung to her lips in an agonizingly soft kiss, one where a sound caught in the back of Risa’s throat, but she didn’t kiss him back. His heart fissured at her lack of response, something he’d never expected from this woman. She trembled against him, but lifted her fingers and put them against his mouth, blocking his touch. “Let me go,” she whispered, her voice unbearably pained and vulnerable. “I forgive you, but please”—it almost felt like a little sob shuddering against his body…”I can’t let you kiss me anymore.” The hurt and plea in her voice flayed Duke open, but he forced himself to let go of her and give her the space for which she asked. He met her gaze, wet pools of green shining bright under the small light. “Tell me what to do,” he begged, his voice cracking and raw. “Tell me what to say to put love back in your eyes. Tell me how to be a different man, one that you can love and respect, and I’ll be that, I swear I will.” “No.” Risa shook her head, tears streaming down her face, ripping him apart. “I don’t want to control and create you any more than I want you to do that to me. You’re a good, strong man already, and I always thought that would be enough. Now I see that love isn’t as simple as wanting it.” Risa slipped through the open door. “Goodbye, Duke.” He could see half of her face as the door pulled closed. “I won’t ever forget a moment I spent with you. I promise.” The bolts slid soundly home, shutting him out of her life forever. Duke lunged, lifting his fist to bang down the door. Just before he hit, he remembered the two children inside and jerked back his hand. He climbed back in his truck and drove home, dead inside, with no clear picture of how to feel alive again without Risa Forrester in his life.

Chapter Twenty-Nine Duke leaned hard on the doorbell, knowing he shouldn’t be here so late, but unable to stay in his big, empty house alone for a minute longer. After a lot of rustling and murmurs on the other side, the door swung open wide and comforting, familiar faces filled the doorway. “Dad.” Concern filled his son’s pale blue eyes. Ren quickly grabbed Duke’s arm and tugged him inside his and Cade’s cabin. Their Irish setter, Crash, trotted up to Duke, his tail wagging. “It’s almost two o’clock in the morning. Are you all right?” Duke absently scratched the dog behind the ears, giving him what he wanted. “I apologize for waking you up.” As he stood inside his kid’s home, he had no words to explain his presence. He didn’t understand it himself. He looked to Cade over his son’s shoulder, worry just as clear in his gaze as in Ren’s. Both of them bare-chested, they wore only sweats. With mussed hair and bleary eyes that proved he’d woken them up, Duke had never felt like such an intruder in his life. “I’ve pulled you guys out of bed and I don’t even know why. I should go.” “You’re not going anywhere.” Swooping in, Ren put an arm around Duke and guided him to a pair of chairs that sat facing a couch. The dog scampered to the kitchen area and settled himself under the table. Ren pushed Duke into one of the chairs and moved around to take the couch for himself. “Something got you out of the house in the middle of the night, and I won’t let you leave until you talk about it.” Cade padded on bare feet out of the open living room/kitchen area, disappearing through an open door that Duke knew led to their bedroom. Great, he had run a man into hiding in his own home. Before Duke could apologize for that too, Cade reappeared with a t-shirt on. He had another one in his hands and passed it to Ren. “Thanks, Deputy.” Ren pulled on the Minnesota Twins tee. Cade moved across the room and flipped a light on over the sink. “Can I get you something to drink, Duke?” He grabbed a glass and a mug from the drying rack. “Soda, water, orange juice.” He paused. “Coffee?” “I could use a beer.” His face stricken, Cade said, “Sorry. Can’t help you with that.” Too late, Duke remembered that Cade didn’t drink alcohol of any kind. Out of respect, Ren didn’t bring in or allow any alcoholic beverages in the house, period. “No, I’m the one who’s sorry. I’ll take a glass of water with a lot of ice.” “Done.” “All right, Dad”—Ren drew Duke’s focus back to him…”just go ahead and say it, so we can get to why you’re not sleeping.” “Say what?” Cade brought Duke a tall, slender glass filled to the brim, setting it on the little end table beside his chair. He backed up a step, but Ren reached out and grabbed his hand, tugging him to the couch. Ren held Cade’s hand tight, but he only had eyes for Duke. “Tell me you miss her, that you don’t know what to do without her, but you don’t know what to say or do to get her back. Nothing else has you banging on my door at this hour, looking like this.” He

waved his hand down Duke’s haggard appearance. “Don’t even bother trying to deny it.” Duke rubbed at the prickly, scratchy stubble poking out all along his jaw. Laying his head back against the chair, he turned weary eyes on his son. “I don’t understand how she twisted me up and got under my skin so fast.” He chuckled, the sound rough. “I made a damn fool of myself panting after her all around town and asking her to marry me so fast, but then ripping it away when I couldn’t get her to bow to my demands.” “That’s a place to start,” Ren said gently. “Admitting that you made unrealistic demands on her. The term ‘controlling asshole’ comes to my mind.” “I don’t want her to die!” Duke exploded out of his seat. “What in the hell is so wrong with that?” “You demanded that she stifle who she is in order for you to stay together.” Ren shot forward to the edge of the couch. “That can’t be what you really want.” “I don’t want her to die,” Duke said again, his knees growing weak just thinking it. His heart racing fast enough to make him dizzy, he stumbled back to his chair. “It would kill me.” “I get that, Dad, believe me, I do.” Empathy washed over Ren, softening his voice and gentling the fire in his eyes. Duke knew his son flashed back to almost losing Cade to multiple gunshot wounds a year ago. Ren reached across the narrow coffee table and squeezed Duke’s hand. “Take yourself out of the fear of losing Risa for a minute and start thinking with a little bit of common sense. If she complied with what you wanted, you would not have the real Risa. She wouldn’t be the woman you fell in love with, not even close. It might have looked like her, and it might have sounded like her, but her spirit would have disappeared, and eventually, that would have smothered the life right out of her. I know you don’t want to do that.” “I know, I know, I know.” His prickish behavior toward Risa assaulted his brain, crippling him, as it had done constantly since she had walked out on him two weeks ago. Christ, the very depth of that pain had pushed him to talk to her tonight. Duke pushed forward and dropped his face into his hands, knowing now that he could do nothing to get her back. Exhaustion and hopelessness sapped the strength right out of him. He looked up at his son through bloodshot eyes that hadn’t had a decent night’s sleep in weeks. “I knew I was fucking everything up royally with her, but I just couldn’t let go of needing her to be safe. Even when I realized it only drove her farther away, and that I would lose her because of it, I couldn’t stop. Every time she did her own thing and it scared me I pushed and pushed to try and bring her in line, until I didn’t have to shove her away anymore, she finally slammed the door in my face.” “Risa will never shut you out for good,” Ren said, certainty lacing his words. “She doesn’t have it in her to stop loving you. You just have to let go a little bit and find a way to let her in. All the way in, to a place I don’t think you’ve let her go yet, no matter how physically intimate you’ve become.” Duke stiffened. “That’s none of your damn business.” He pushed his spine back into the chair. “I’m not talking about that with you, or anyone.” “And I’m not asking you to, damn it.” Ren’s back went ramrod straight too. “That isn’t what I mean. I’m talking about the fact that I don’t even have to ask you if you’ve told Risa you love her, because I would bet money in Vegas that you haven’t.” Lightning-fast images of all the little and big moments he had spent in Risa’s

company over the last three months flashed across Duke’s mind. Blood rushed through his body in thick, buffeting waves, reminding him that he was very much still alive. “Believe me, kid, she knows how I feel.” Ren threw his hands up in the air. “That doesn’t mean she doesn’t need to hear it, Dad.” Exasperation made Ren’s words short. “Listen, I had a hard time admitting to myself that I loved Cade, and an even tougher time telling him. I know how the words get backed up in your throat, even as you want to say them with every fiber in your being.” Complete awareness shone through blue eyes that would not back down. Ren leaned forward, not letting Duke’s gaze dart or waver away from his. “Brenda messed us both up so bad all those years ago that we closed ourselves off to other people, and after a time we just sort of accepted that we could only rely on each other. After that, through natural progression I think, we forgot how to let other people into our hearts. We pretty much shut down to everyone but each other. Not only that, but we got so used to it we stopped even thinking that we needed anyone but each other.” Pain stabbed Duke in the middle, punching his heart right out of his chest. “I didn’t realize I’d stunted you so much.” “You didn’t.” Ren got up from the couch and moved in front of Duke. Sitting down on the edge of the coffee table, he took Duke’s hands firmly in his own. He kissed one, then the other, finally letting them dangle clasped between them. “I love you so much. You are a good man, and an even better father. But, Dad, you need to learn how to be a good partner again. It’s different, I know that now. The choices you have to make, the things you have to learn how to accept, are very different from what you’ve become so accustomed to having in your life since we moved here to Quinten. You can do it, though. I believe for her, you can teach yourself to become a partner, rather than what you’re so used to being now, namely, the boss.” “I want to,” Duke confessed, tired of fighting. “But I don’t know how. I don’t know what to do next.” “Love her,” Ren answered simply. “I know you can. You still have so much love to give, but you’re not letting yourself do it. I saw you with Tyler in our house tonight. You are a natural born father, it's in your blood. You live to have people rely on you. You need it, you love it, it brings you to life. You cannot stand that house anymore because you don’t have a family living in it with you. You don’t want to be there without someone to watch TV with, or cook for, or even clean up after. Fill it up again, Dad. Get Risa back, marry her, help her adopt those kids and become the father they both need. Especially, Tyler. I could see it in that kid’s eyes tonight. You intimidate him, but at the same time, he looks at you with envy and admiration. Become familiar and reliable in his life, just like you did for me, and take that fear away.” “I’m almost forty-five years old.” Panic drowned the hope within Duke that tried to grab onto Ren’s words. “I can’t become a father again now. I’m too old.” “And what would have become of me if you’d said ‘I’m too young to be a father to this kid’ when you came into my life?” Ren asked. “You were a twenty-five year old man taking on responsibility for a five-year old boy who wasn’t his own. Most men would have walked away from that, but you didn’t. You took me on, and then you kept me and made sure I had stability when Brenda’s life spun out of control. I want you to hear me say that, because maybe you’ve forgotten how special that is, but I haven’t.” “You’re the special one, kid. I felt privileged to have you.”

“Thank you.” Squeezing Duke’s knee, Ren went on. “But now let me point out something else. Risa is responsible, we both know that, but she is also young and single. You know how the courts work. They could easily decide that she’s not the best choice for a teenage boy and a ten-year-old girl. If she and those children had you, though, a man who has already proven that he can adopt a child and raise him successfully, it would make all the difference in the world. You can have Risa, and you can have those kids as your own, all you have to do is open your heart and embrace them.” “You’re already attached to the boy,” Cade offered, his voice deep and sure. Duke’s mind reeled, shifting straight into overload. “Why? Because I invited him to have pizza and watch a hockey game?” “Because you’ve already shortened his name to Ty,” Cade explained. “Nicknames imply fondness. You also called him ‘kid’ a number of times tonight. You call Ren ‘kid,’ and you do it with affection. I have never heard you say that to any other person in all the time I’ve known you. In your heart, you’ve already started thinking of that boy as your responsibility, whether you’ve acknowledged it to yourself or not.” Panic at everything he’d so stupidly thrown away slammed through Duke with the speed and power of a Mac truck. “Christ, what in the hell have I done?” He turned bleak eyes on his son and Cade. “I hurt Risa so badly, and she has finally washed her hands of me for good.” His heart pounded painfully, and at this point, he couldn’t believe it would ever stop. “When I dropped Ty off earlier tonight she told me she doesn’t think we’re compatible, and that we shouldn’t be together after all. She meant it. I felt it go all the way through me like a ghost walking over my grave when she said the words. She doesn’t want me in her life anymore.” “Then change her mind,” Ren insisted. “Let go of everything with Risa. Be terrified when you talk to her, be certain you’ll die from the fear of exposure, but do it anyway. Talk to her about everything that is scaring you where she’s concerned. Put every last damn thing on the line for this one woman and these children that you are so clearly destined to love. Add to our family, Dad. I already like Ty real well, and I know I’ll love Ruby too. Give me a brother and sister, and God knows how many more along with them. You did such a good job raising me and taking care of me, and Lord knows I’ll always need you for something. But at the same time, I’m grown now and have Cade to rely on when things get tough. I think it’s well past time for you to open your heart to new people, and let them experience some of that love too.” Duke flashed back to the light shining down on Risa’s determined, resolved face as she stood against that wall and told him to leave her alone. “I don’t know.” Her honesty and sincerity in every word she ever spoke shook his foundation and confidence. “You didn’t see her eyes tonight when she told me to let her go. She doesn’t say anything she doesn’t mean, and if I ignore her request it will only anger her all the more. All it will show her is that I don’t respect her wishes. It will make her surer than ever that she made the right choice in pushing me away. Christ.” Letting his head fall back against the chair, Duke stared up at the beamed ceiling, seeing no way out of this mess he had created. He rubbed distractedly at the tightness of need—and loss—in his chest. “She makes me so unsure, about everything. She’s practically half my age, with no experience, but she has been more in control and certain of every move we made from the very first kiss than I could have ever hoped to be. I don’t have the damnedest first clue about the right thing to do anymore.”

“Stop worrying about what’s right, or even just what you think is right,” Cade said gently, “and start doing and showing what’s in your heart.” Shifting from the couch, he sat on the table next to Ren. He curled his hand in Ren’s and settled them, linked together, on his knee. “As I struggled to forgive Ren, you both remember that Risa came and talked to me. Her words had more of an impact on me than I think virtually any other conversation I’ve ever had in my life. She talked about how everything is a choice, even the forgiveness, faith, and trust that I didn’t understand how to give back to Ren after he hurt me. She basically told me that if I planned on waiting around for a miracle to happen, it never would. I had to decide what I really wanted, and then make it happen through choice and action on my own. You should take heed of her words too. However, before you can expect Risa to believe you, you have to decide what you really want and believe it can happen yourself. Strip yourself naked and bare your soul, that way she knows there’s not anywhere left for you to hide a piece of yourself from her, or to hold anything back.” He shrugged his shoulders. “That’s my bit of pushy advice. You’re welcome to take it, or not.” Duke scrubbed his face, his own need conflicting with Risa’s wishes. If he pushed and didn’t say the right thing, a heaviness in his gut told him he would lose her forever. Problem was, he hadn’t exactly proven himself capable of finding the right thing to say to her. Ever. The cold hand of fear clamped down on his heart, but he shook it off and got to his feet. “All right, I’ve taken up enough of your time. I’m going to go home and let you guys get back to sleep.” He leaned down and pecked a kiss on the crown of Ren’s head, and squeezed Cade’s shoulder with equal affection. “I promise I won’t make this a habit.” “Don’t ever say stuff like that,” Ren ordered. “You can come here any time you want. You know that.” Both men walked Duke the ten feet to the door. When they got there, Ren gave him a quick hug. “What are you going to do?” More important to Duke, he just wished he knew the right thing to do, and he would suffer whatever Risa requested in order to do that. “Don’t know.” He pat his kid on the cheek, waved bye, and drove back home to his empty house. **** Sleep did not come to Duke after his talk with his son. He wandered around the darkened empty shell of his house, touching over pictures of him and Ren, and more recently, some with Cade included too. Duke really did have the very best time raising that kid. Now, since Ren had found Cade and become a man himself, Duke’s role had shifted to more that of a very good friend. While he loved that, it left Duke with an additional hole in his life that he hadn’t known how to fill. He laughed, the sound hollow in the empty house, as he accepted that he’d long ago stopped filling those vacant places in his heart; he just put a lid on them and told himself he had repaired them. Then Risa busted into his life and demanded that he uncover those gaps and talk about them, wanting to get inside and help him heal the damage his past and his stubbornness had so blindly created since his divorce. Only, he had become so accustomed to pretending that everything was okay— something he’d had to do in the beginning to get Ren through his mother’s abandonment of him—that only now had he begun to realize that he’d fooled everyone else so well that

he’d bought into his own hype and started believing it too. Risa, and how he’d behaved with her so often right from the start, forced him to look again, to see that broken pieces still existed inside him, perhaps neglected for so long that he could not repair them. Panic sliced through Duke. Christ, he didn’t want to be damaged and alone any more. He raced up the stairs to his bedroom and ripped open a bottom dresser drawer, pulling out a stack of folded papers with a photo attached: his divorce decree along with a picture of him, Brenda, and Ren, early on in their relationship when Duke had wholeheartedly believed in the lie of their damn near perfect family. All those years ago he’d paper-clipped the photo to the settlement as a reminder of how easily one can be duped if they never open their eyes and question otherwise. Duke fingered the picture. He held it up close, looking for the satisfaction he felt when he examined it with the full knowledge of its falsehood. He studied Brenda closely, remembering exactly how he’d felt when she looked up at him that day at the fair, the smile on her face as she tickled Ren, who Duke had on his shoulders. He’d felt so damn lucky to be with Brenda that day. Her parents had snapped the picture, creating a beautiful family moment that Duke hadn’t ever known he’d wanted until Brenda and Ren had entered his life. His life with Brenda had slowly and steadily gone down an ugly hill after that. Tonight, Duke looked at the picture again and knew without a doubt something he hadn’t let himself believe in a very long time: the smile on Brenda’s face, lighting up eyes that duplicated in her son’s, was real. When Brenda kept herself healthy and clean, they’d experienced moments of real happiness as a small, young family. It had not always been a lie. How could he have blocked that truth out for so damn long? A strangled sob choked Duke and he stumbled backward, missing the edge of the bed and landing on the floor. He sat there in the cold staring at the picture for hours, forcing himself to believe its truth, although he didn’t exactly understand why he needed to know. He just knew that if he ever wanted to go to Risa as a whole man that he needed to know this truth, now. Twinkles of early sunlight started to peek through his curtains before Duke finally accepted it. He moved his fingers to tear the picture, his past hopefully behind him for good. Before he made the first rip, he stopped himself from destroying the memory. He didn’t need it for himself anymore, but that didn’t mean it needed to disappear. As Duke got up he grabbed the divorce papers and took them downstairs too, putting them in their proper place in his file cabinet, no longer an unspoken, poisonous force in his room constantly reminding him of the mistakes of his past. The picture he set on the coffee table, knowing that he would give it to Ren and explain to him that once upon a time his mother really had loved him, before drugs overwhelmed her will and stole a decent woman away from the both of them, leaving behind a shell of woman with very little humanity in her. As Duke made a pot of coffee, his thoughts turned to Risa again, and what he had to do to prove himself as a man worthy of her faith and love. He thought about the things she loved the most, and before too long Duke grabbed the phone and took it into his office, powered up the computer, and made a few very important calls.

Chapter Thirty With a familiar tunnel vision, Risa watched packed dirt come careening at her face as she flew off the back of Rock-n-Roll. Instinct propelled her to the side, tucking her shoulder as she made contact with the ground in a jaw-rattling crash. Tenderness pushed a sharp stab of pain through her body to her shoulder blade and back, but she popped to her feet in a flash and ran for the fencing of the practice ring. She needn’t have bothered. The spotted bull cantered to the exit gate as if out for a Sunday stroll, his horned head held high. Risa chuckled, her affection for the animal growing every time she got on his back. The three-year-old beast already knew he would soon be a champion. Smiling, Risa faced her crowd and bowed. “Woohoo! All right!” Hoots and hollers, and some good-natured razzing from the line-up of onlookers standing on the paddock fence reached Risa’s ears through her protective helmet. Today, she only had eyes and ears for two. She pulled off her mouth and headgear, smiled at Ty, and sheepishly shrugged her shoulders. “I wish I could do it every time, but I don’t always make it the eight seconds for a ride.” Ty gave her a genuine smile, one of the first she believed especially for her. The upward curl of his grin wrapped itself right around her heart. “You gave it a good go,” Ty said. “Got real close too.” He leaned in to Ren next to him, who held the stopwatch. “Seven seconds.” Ruby sat on the top rung of the fence with Luke at her back and Cain at her side. She had already declared the two of them her favorites, as she’d decided she liked horses much more than big, ugly bulls. Caleb had pretended to take an arrow to the heart at her words, making the girl laugh, and very likely develop her first crush. Risa imagined Caleb had captured many a young girl’s heart with his unique charm. “How come you don’t get hurt when you fall?” Ruby asked, concern and curiosity lighting her intelligent eyes. “When you ride bulls you learn how to fall just as seriously as you learn how to ride,” Risa shared. She flexed her shoulder and made a big circle with her arm, keeping the joint and muscles of her recovered injury loose. She climbed up on the fence and whispered in Ruby’s ear. “But if you want to know a secret, it is a little bit scary, and it does sometimes hurt when I fall.” Hopping back down, she added, “Especially when I hit on my butt.” She dramatically stuck out her tush and rubbed her derriere. “You’re so silly.” Ruby threw her head back against Luke’s chest, giggling hysterically, just as Risa wanted. Risa and Mavis compared notes and talked a lot, and while Ruby still had nightmares every night, and probably would for quite a while, she seemed better during the day as she acclimated and settled in to her new life. She had some trouble focusing at school, but the social worker had warned her to expect that, as she hadn’t functioned in a structured environment for such a long time. “She is silly,” Luke agreed with a completely straight face. “She’s also a total showoff.” Risa stuck her tongue out at her big brother.

He stuck his tongue right back out at her. “She’s also pretty darn great,” Duke’s deep, rough voice offered from behind them. Risa whipped around and found the man circling the practice pen toward the growing group. He stayed outside the fencing, but his focus zeroed in solely on her as he moved. The baby-fine hairs on Risa’s neck tingled under her ponytail. “A fact I never forgot once, even when I behaved like a jackass—excuse me”—he slid a heartbreaking smile Ruby’s way…”bad word there. I meant jerk.” Everyone lining the fence exchanged subdued murmurs of greeting. Instinct, and bone-deep love, moved Risa three steps closer to Duke without thought, but she abruptly pulled up short and dug her boots into the dirt, halting her flight. She had to stop running to him whenever his presence stroked her body … and her heart. Clasping her hands behind her back, she leveled a benign stare on him from over the fence, determinedly ignoring the warm gold color deepening his gaze to rich, vibrant life. She also promised herself she didn’t feel a telltale moisture and throbbing between her legs at the picture of him in faded jeans, boots, and a dark flannel shirt. None of that mattered. “How can we help you?” She didn’t dare assume anything about this man anymore. “Do you need to see Caleb?” She jerked her head to the side where Caleb strolled toward the group from the direction of the holding pens. “There he is. Right there.” Duke’s gaze never wavered from her. “Actually, I’m here to see you.” He climbed up to the first slat of the fence and held a package out to her. “I have a gift for you.” He shook the narrow box. “Go ahead. Take it.” Risa squeezed her gloved hand around the other hard enough to cut off circulation, and kept them behind her back. “It’s not my birthday.” “It’s not for your birthday, nor Christmas. It isn’t for anything except that I want you to have it because you’re you.” His eyes darted for a second to the small crowd. When he came back to her, deep red slashed through the ruddiness already marring his cheeks. “Please open it. I think you’ll want to see it.” Risa unwound the tape secured around her riding hand wrist and pulled off her glove. Tucking it in the back pocket of her jeans, she reluctantly took the slender box, hesitant to make a scene in front of her brother and the kids. She didn’t want Luke taking another swing at Duke, period, but especially not in front of Ruby and Ty. Risa looked down, biting her lip as she studied the atrocious wrapping job, with extra large pieces of clear packing tape holding the red paper together. She slid her finger through a tiny gap in the paper and pulled back, unwinding and unwinding extra layers of gift wrap until she got to the narrow box inside. Cain stretched his hand out, and Risa handed him the mile of paper, leaving her with just the box. Her hands shook and her heart raced. As she took a clarifying breath, she wished with all her heart that Duke didn’t affect her so, and that she didn’t feel such a strong tie to him. Whether she wanted to experience it or not, her body constantly gave her proof that she did. Silently, she ordered herself to calm down and pulled the lid off the box. Half a dozen sheets of folded paper rested inside. As Risa unfolded them, a smaller paper floated to the ground. She picked it up, gasping when she saw a check for an enormous amount of money. Her gaze shot to Duke’s, tears already filling her eyes. She saw to whom he had addressed the check. Unfolding the rest of the papers, she waved the application at Duke. “Are you trying

to drive me crazy?” Her voice hitched unnaturally high. “One minute you can’t stand what I do, the next you’re on board, and then you’re off again. And now”—she shoved the minor level PBR World Finals application and entry fee at his face…”now you’re trying to tell me you’re fine with it again and want to send me to the most important competition of the year? I don’t understand you.” She pushed the papers into his hands, wanting to pull out her hair—no, his hair—with her bare hands. “I can’t keep letting you do this to me. You’re going to drive me nuts. You’re so all over the map I don’t know whether you’re coming or going anymore, and if I do, I can’t ever be sure how long you’ll be there with me.” “Okay,” Luke broke in. He hoisted Ruby off the fence and threw her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. “I’m getting thirsty and hungry.” He slid an arm around Tyler’s shoulders and drew the teen away from the fence too. “How ’bout you, Ty? Cain? You guys feel like having some lunch?” Awareness filled Ty’s gaze as it moved from Duke to Risa, and then back to Duke. Risa wanted to sink right into the ground and let it swallow her in one giant gulp. “Yeah, okay,” Ty agreed. “That sounds good.” He dipped down at Luke’s back and tweaked his sister’s nose. “What about you, runt? You ready to eat?” “Don’t call me runt!” Thank God—and Ty’s knowledge of his sister—that Ruby took his bait. As Luke carried her dangling over his back toward the main house, her voice trailed off with, “I swear if you say that again I’m gonna tell everyone you like…” Distance muffled her voice after that. Risa couldn’t tell if that, or Ty’s hand over her mouth, cut her tirade short. Risa held the need to scream tight in the back of her throat, knowing that it wouldn’t make her feel any better. At this point, she didn’t know what would anymore. She turned to Duke, her jaw aching with the effort to keep her voice level. “I don’t want your money.” She flattened the check against his chest with a hard thump. “I never did. I don’t need to go to the finals.” “But… but…” Duke climbed over the fence in a shot and towered over her in seconds. “But this is what you wanted. You want me to support what you do, so that’s what I’ll do. I called Caleb and he told me you get stars in your eyes when you talk about going to this event. He said you’re well ahead of track to qualify, so I went online and printed the application and filled it out for you. When it comes time, we’ll mail it in and you’ll be on your way. I don’t know how to show you my support any more than that.” Risa turned on Caleb, frustration powering her anger. “You talked about my riding with him?” She stabbed a finger into Duke’s muscular bicep. “When he can’t decide what in the hell he feels from one minute to the next? How could you help him fuck with my head even more than he already has?” Caleb turned his unflinching, cornflower blue eyes on her. “Because I listened to him, and I think he’s finally getting un-fucked in the head where you’re concerned. You’re practically my sister, and you know I would never sell you out. Don’t accuse me of that, because then you’re gonna start pissing me off.” “Hear him out, Ris,” Ren encouraged, nodding his head. “Give him a chance to explain himself and speak his piece. Can you do any less than taking the very advice you gave to Cade in regards to me?” Risa turned a murderous glare on her best friend. “The two situations have nothing to do with each other.”

“Yeah,” Ren agreed. His eyes grew haunted for a moment. “What Cade had to forgive me for was a thousand times worse than how Duke has behaved with you.” God, her mom always told her butting into other people’s lives would come back and bite her on the ass one day. Crap. Damn this man. First trying to corner her last night, the pain in his eyes wrecking her convictions and resolve, making her feel like the bad guy for standing up for herself and pushing him away. She had to harshly remind herself that she hadn’t done a damn thing wrong except respect herself enough to pull away from him, when her foolish heart had only wanted to stay and hold him on that cold backstreet for the rest of the night. Now, he expected her to deal with this too? Feeling trapped, put on the spot, and on display all at the same time, Risa climbed through the break in the paddock slats and headed for the stables. “Better start talking, Sheriff,” she called back over her shoulder, not bothering to turn around. Her bull rope dragged on the ground, the cowbells creating a long, narrow track through the dirt. “You’ve got as long as it takes me to remove my gear and pack it up.” She heard “Go, go,” float through the air from Ren and Caleb, and then the heavy footfall of boots growing louder against the packed earth until Duke caught up to her long-legged, fast stride. She glanced up at Duke as they entered the shadows of the horse stable. Her breath caught and her stomach flip-flopped at his arresting masculine aura, a physical presence that always attacked her senses on a visceral level. Every time she saw him since they’d separated she fought the need to mold herself to him and kiss him. If she couldn’t do that, at the very least she wanted to touch his hand, or arm, or back, simply because the need to feel the heat and life in him drove her to it. Her bones ached and her heart hurt when she couldn’t connect to him physically and emotionally, and getting through the last couple of weeks without him had severely tested her ability to stay away from him. She found herself picking up the phone to call him about something with the kids, doing it automatically. When she remembered that she couldn’t dial his number anymore, and it hit her that she couldn’t cleave to him for support and an open ear, it felt like they broke up all over again. Each time, her soul grieved anew for the loss, and she promised herself it would get better every successive day they spent apart. The fact that he came back to her, again, because he apparently changed his mind, again, didn’t blossom hope in Risa heart. Instead, it put a hole in the pit of her stomach, lit a fire in her core that he would push her back to square one of finding a way to smile, be productive, and eventually happy without him in her life. By the time they reached the office in the stables, a full head of steam boiled inside Risa. She moved inside to the couch that held the specialty bag for all of her bull riding gear. Draping her rope over the back of the couch, she turned around and found Duke across the office, where he had his back pressed up against the closed door. He looked like he wished he could be just about anywhere but here. Leveling a pointed stare on him, she pulled the Velcro tabs on her vest and slipped the heavy garment off her shoulders. “If this is your big speech it has a surprising lack of words.” She lifted her boot to the couch cushion and reached to the back of her thigh and the buckles on her chaps. “You’ve got the time it takes me to remove chaps, spurs, and boots.” She met his gaze across ten feet of space that in her heart felt like a mile. “Better

start talking, and getting right to the point.” Duke pushed away from the door. As he stalked her, his eyes drilled right into her soul. “I want to support you, no matter what you do. I want to marry you and share a bed for the rest of our lives, and I want to adopt those kids with you and give them a family and a home they can count on forever.” He stopped just shy of touching her. Didn’t matter. He undressed her and skimmed his hands over every inch of her body with his eyes, devouring her whole. She gulped. “So.” He reached down caressed her inner thigh, expertly working the first buckle on her chaps. “Is that good enough for you?” Risa covered Duke’s hand and very deliberately removed it from her leg. “Not even close.” She trembled with the importance of this one, brief moment, knowing that it could irreversibly change her life. “You give me your soul right now, Duke Boone, or we end this right here, right now, for good.” Duke paled and stepped away.

Chapter Thirty-One “I… I…” Duke looked like a deer caught in Risa’s headlights. He darted his focus everywhere but at her, before finally stiffening and meeting her gaze once again. “Damn it, I just told you I want to make a life with you and that I won’t fight the bull riding anymore. That is what’s in my soul.” Risa held her ground, no matter how much she wanted to jump on Duke and take what she could get. “No,” she disagreed carefully, “those are your intentions. I want to know what you’re feeling in your heart. I want to know how in the hell you expect me to believe you when…” She wanted to show strength, but her throat clogged and thickened her voice, betraying her vulnerability. “…when every time I do something that you think is risky you go off on me, giving me a list of reasons why I can’t do it, why I shouldn’t do it, and how you’ll break up with me if I do do it. I can’t live like that, Duke.” She went back to removing her chaps, suddenly feeling very weary. “I deserve better, and right now, with those kids, I can’t have you bouncing in and out of a relationship with me based on how threatened you’re feeling on any given day.” Duke reared back as if she had slapped him. “I would never jerk those kids around.” “No. Just me.” His eyes slid closed briefly. “Damn it, I didn’t mean it like that.” He turned away from her and paced to the other side of the office until he stood in front of a tall bookshelf filled with binders, folders, and a host of other miscellaneous crap. Bracing his hands against the wood, Duke hung his head down and looked at the floor. His voice rough, he began again. “Christ, Risa, you push at every convention I have inside me, you knot me up good, and you scare me to death making me feel like I need you more than you need me. I don’t like feeling that way; it unsettles me in a way I simply don’t have words to describe. All I can say is that I’ve spent the last fourteen years cautious about relationships because the only thing I remembered about my ex-wife was that she made me hotter than anyone I’d ever met. That sexual pull completely blinded me to all the signs I should have seen that we weren’t right for each other, in ways that went well beyond her addictions.” He held his back so very rigid that Risa thought he might break if she touched him. “Anyway, you are right about me, pretty much down the line. After I divorced, I pushed everything I ever felt for a woman all the way down inside me, making sure I never became a victim to my dick again. Then I started things with you, and that same level of out-of-control lust overwhelmed me again—no, it went even deeper than what I’d felt with Brenda. My head kept telling me over and over again that I would get so knee-deep in it that I wouldn’t see the signs that surely must be telling me that I can’t be with this beautiful, exciting young woman for more than a brief flash of time. “Last night, when I looked into your eyes and knew for a certainty that I’d lost you for good, I finally accepted that I didn’t care that I wasn’t supposed to feel such an attraction for you, all I care about is that I do. When you pushed me away…” His voice broke terribly, as if he suffered through adolescence again. “I spent the rest of the night denying that I deserved you in the first place. I begged Ren and Cade for answers and then went home and did the one thing I needed to do before I could come back to you a

whole man. I put my ex-wife, and all the blame and anger I felt toward her for so long, to rest. I let myself remember that we had some good times too, and that I didn’t make a mistake in loving her, because I got Ren out of the time I spent with her. “At the same time”—Duke’s voice grew incredibly soft…”I realized that what I once thought an overwhelming love for Brenda didn’t come even close to the reality. You taught me I didn’t have a clue how far off the mark I was until you took over my life and my heart, and I fell in love with you.” Risa covered her mouth, pushing down a heavy, loud sob. Her knees buckling, she dropped to the couch. Oceans crashed in her ears as the blood rushed through her veins, and her hands and feet went numb. She never thought to hear any of these amazing words or terribly raw confessions from Duke’s lips. She just hadn’t believed he would ever let himself do it. Squeezing her fingernails into her hands, she forced herself to sit quietly and let him get it all said. He went on, “You don’t understand how afraid I get every time I see you on the back of a bull.” Duke’s voice scratched with gravel, and each word and confession he made cut deeper into Risa’s heart, pulling back the layers to where her desperate love for him had first blossomed, and still remained, almost healthy and intact. “You don’t understand that it’s more than the idea that you could die, although Christ, it does practically cripple me every time you fall. But more than that, you don’t see how beautiful and excited you look when you ride bulls, or when you decide you want to grab something new with both hands and see how it fits your life. You light up. You love everything new that comes into your life, and I wonder how I can compete with that when my life is going in the other direction. I’m getting to a place where I’m stable, and routine, and the same every day, whereas you’re in full Technicolor and always looking for the next great thing to try. How long will it be before something has to go away to make room for more? And if I’m the thing in your life that’s staid, and the same, and worn in, it stands to reason I’ll be the thing that goes when you have to trade something out to make a place for the newest challenge you want to experience. I know it’s petty and selfish of me to think that way, and I will change it, because I do love it when you light up, I swear to God I do. I just need to figure out how to make myself believe that your passions aren’t a threat to me. I will get there. I swear I will.” Duke finally turned around. The shaking rocking his big frame, and the wildness in his fearful gaze socked a punch right through Risa’s belly to her spine, crippling her too. “You want me to assure you that I won’t change my mind and run out on you in two weeks when you want to do something new, but how am I supposed to live with the terror that in five years, as I keep getting older and you keep getting more vibrant and beautiful, that I will be enough to keep you interested and satisfied? Because I have to tell you, Risa, I know your life, so I know how strong you are. You could live through me being a dick and us breaking up, but I’ve gotta tell you, I don’t think I could survive you outgrowing me and leaving. I know it would kill me.” Everything stripped away from Duke right then, and before Risa simply remained a man frightened to be in love. “You wanted to know what’s in my heart, my very soul? Well, there you have it. Every damn bit of it in ugly, pathetic detail.” The need to comfort this man pushed feeling back into Risa’s legs. She ran across the room and threw herself into Duke’s arms, her body crashing into his with a solid force that didn’t so much as make him stumble. His arms came around her back and he

lifted her right off the ground until their faces came on level. In his eyes, she saw all the fear and uncertainty that up until now he had so steadfastly refused to acknowledge. She cupped his cheeks, touching her fingertips over his eyes, the bridge of his nose, and the sensuousness of his mouth. Duke pressed a kiss into the center of her palm, his breath catching on the tender act. “I love you,” he said roughly, and kissed the pad of her thumb. “I love you, I love you, I love you.” In between each declaration, he kissed the tip of a different finger. “I don’t like living with fear, but for a chance with you, I will learn to accept it.” Risa held Duke’s face and kissed his lips again and again with the gentlest touches. “Baby, you don’t have to feel afraid. That’s what I keep trying to make you understand.” She looked into his eyes, and at the same time fingered his face, hair, and shoulders, trying to soothe him with her touch. “There will always be room for you. I never would have stopped loving you, even if we didn’t end up together. That is not even an option. You are, and always will be, the one and only for me. My heart wouldn’t even know how to beat for anyone else.” He growled and backed her to the desk. “Exactly.” She smiled against his lips. “I feel the same about you thinking about another woman.” “There are no other women.” He tore at her shirt, popping the snaps open all at the same time, as if he had to get to her right this second or die. “I can only see you.” Risa ripped at Duke’s shirt too, pushing it off and getting to all that hard, hot skin beneath. God, just like always, he quickly pushed her to a flashpoint before her brain had a chance to catch up. “Wait, wait.” She stilled his fingers over the front clasp of her bra. “Please.” His voice scraped over her with his need. “It has been hell being apart from you.” He unhooked her bra and covered her breasts with his big hands, making her ache all over for him. Risa started to push into Duke, to rub herself against the hard ridge of cock riding inside his jeans, but at the last second pulled her hips away from him. “No, wait. Stop for a minute and listen to me.” She encircled his wrists and dragged his wonderful fingers away from her breasts, leaving her berry nipples pointed and begging for his touch. With determination, she ignored her body’s natural instinct to mate with this particular man, and put him a step away from her. He groaned, but she strong-armed his chest and kept him at bay. “We can’t keep repeating the same mistake we’ve made time and again since I got hurt.” She met his gaze, forcing him to connect to her in another way. “We can’t go back to temporarily solving this problem with sex. Otherwise, in two weeks, we really will be right back to where we were before.” Duke held his hands up and backed off. “All right. Fine. What’s the problem? What’s in two weeks?” She took a deep breath. “My first competition back from my injury.” Duke’s jaw clenched and he spun away. He clasped his hands behind his neck and walked the length of the office. Tension permeated the air once again, but eventually, after long minutes of silence that screamed volumes, he came back to her side. “Okay, that’s fine.” His words came out stiff, but he spoke them without flinching. “That’s your choice. I will support you. Everything else, I’ll learn to deal with quietly, in my own time, and in my own way.” Risa sighed, the weight of their future never feeling heavier than it did in this

moment. “Duke, I know you don’t like me riding bulls.” “Correction,” he bit off. “I hate like hell that you ride bulls. It scares the shit out of me, but I will get to a place where I can support you if it’s the last goddamned thing I do.” A moistening brightness filled his eyes, but he blinked it away. “Because I know how much it means to you.” Risa straightened away from the desk, suddenly feeling a thousand times lighter than she had just moments ago. “Okay, see right there?” Grabbing his hands, she tugged him back in front of her. “That’s what I want. You don’t have to agree with me about everything. God, how boring would that be? At the same time, I don’t want you being all stoic and feeling like you have to hide your opinions. I don’t care if we don’t agree about everything. Lord knows I surely don’t think we’ll see eye to eye on every issue in our future. I like the thought of expressing our differences, Duke, and I’m strong enough to go toe-to-toe in a shouting match with you about things we both care about deeply. I’m a big girl, I can handle your passion, and even your anger. The only thing I can’t live with is your fear coming out as orders and dictates about what I can and cannot do, and then threats of leaving me if I don’t comply.” He snaked his hand around her neck and pulled her flush against his body. “I will never leave you again.” Tilting her head back, he tunneled his fingers through her hair and worked her ponytail loose. His gaze lighted on hers, for the first time allowing the entire spectrum of emotions to shine through from their bottomless depths. “I belong to you, Risa Forrester, bull rider, businesswoman, cowgirl, mother, for however long you’ll have me.” Tears burned behind Risa’s eyes, misting her vision. “I want you forever, you stubborn man.” She just barely resisted the urge to shake him and then wrap him up in her arms. “God, how can you not see it? How can you not feel it every time we get in the same room? I crushed on you when you saved my life. I fell in love when you offered friendship to my brother and Cain. Today, after what you’ve told me, I know I feel a woman’s love that can match your passion, as long as you’re honest with me. Don’t you understand? No matter what else I do, everything comes back to the core certainty of my love for you. That has not changed in seven years, and it will not change in the next fifty, no matter what new things I try or do. I don’t offer real love easily or lightly, that is the one legacy left by my biological father. He left it on Luke too. Therefore, if you can believe that Luke and Cain are the real deal and will be together forever—and I know that you do—then you have to believe the same thing is possible for us, because in that, Luke and I are the same. We love once, we love big, and we don’t hold anything back when we do. I love you, Duke, and I will never leave you.” She clutched the front of his shirt in her hands, twisting the fabric under her fingers. “Please tell me you believe that wholeheartedly so that we can be together.” He leaned down and fused his mouth to hers in a desperate, brief kiss. “I’ll get there.” His words rasped hard over her sensitized lips, rubbing her raw inside. “I promise I’ll get there.” Eyes glittering bright with vulnerability, Duke swept the desk behind her with his arm and lifted her to the ledge. He covered her breasts and rolled her nipples into tight buds of sensitivity, making her toes curl in her riding boots. Never leaving her gaze, he touched her, and finished roughly, “Please don’t tell me I can’t be with you while I figure out how.” “You’re going to see I’m right.” Risa pulled her shirt off and worked her belt and

zipper while Duke went for her spurs and boots. She smiled, unable to say no to this relationship, whether wise or not. She couldn’t hold back from this man, not after the piece of his soul he’d given her today. “You’re going to wake up every morning and find me still madly in love with you. One day, while we’re sharing the sink and brushing our teeth, it’s gonna hit you that we won’t ever end. You’ll become a believer too.” Duke ripped her jeans down her legs, turning them inside out as he pulled them off. “You don’t have to make me a believer.” He leaned into her and laid her out on the desk, coming down on top of her with the heat and weight of his big, hard body. Reaching between them to free his cock, fire and love brought his amber gaze to a rich, new depth of life. “I just need you to love me, and I’ll spend the rest of my life working on the rest.” He drove into her in one sure thrust, filling her up with him, and taking her all the way to her core. “Let me love you.” He settled his elbows over her shoulders and started to move in slow, deep strokes, sending waves of renewed pleasure through her throbbing, neglected pussy, and shivers up her spine. God, how she’d missed having him inside her. “The one thing I promise is that you won’t regret letting me back into your heart.” She pulled his face down to hers. “You never left my heart.” She kissed him with a month’s worth of missing him, and then bit him with a month’s worth of heartache and frustration. She drew blood, tasting the coppery tang on her lips. Pulling back, she darted out her tongue and licked the small cut, taking more of him inside. “But that’s for making me cry and hurting me with your thoughtless words. I won’t leave you if you do it again, but, as God is my witness, I will kick your ass.” She wrapped her arms and legs around him and executed a tight roll, putting him on his back and her on top. “And don’t think I can’t do it.” She relaxed her leg muscles and sank down, pressing all of her considerable weight until she rode his pubes as well as his cock. Her channel fluttered around his invasion, making them both tremble. “God, we are good at this.” Rocking her hips over his thick erection, she created the most incredible, small stroking sensation all along the walls of her sex. She braced her hands on his chest and looked down into his overly bright eyes. “But having the hottest damn cock in the world won’t be enough to keep your ass from getting kicked halfway across this state if you jerk around with me again.” “Never.” He pulled her face down to his and bit her, stinging her lower lip and drawing blood, just as she had done to him. “There.” He scraped his mouth against hers, coating them both in the bright red stuff before sucking her lower lip between his and cleaning it with his tongue. “Now we even share each other’s blood. For all the life I’ve lived before I fell for you, I’ve never done that with another soul. You own another of my firsts, just as you will any other for the rest of our days together.” Risa chuckled, jostling her weight on top of him and moving his penis resting inside her sex. “I can’t believe I’m saying this”—she pulled up so she could see him, because God, she did so love getting lost in his stark beauty…”but I think that’s about the most romantic thing you’ve ever said and done with me.” Underneath the cloudy desire, Duke’s eyes twinkled with new humor. “Even more than a big check for a bull riding competition?” “Way better… Mmmm…” She moaned as he plunged up into her pussy in response, spearing her squeezing channel. She closed her eyes and fought through the pull down into complete sexual abandon. She wanted to stay with Duke; she loved watching him get lost in their coupling before her own needs took her over completely. Duke delved two fingers through the top of her slit and tickled her clit, stretching

taut the string of Risa’s good intentions. “Oh, God, yes.” She dug her trimmed fingernails into his chest, and breathed her way through the first little tremor rocking through her body. Gritting her teeth, she pulled herself back from the brink and met his strangely luminous gaze. “I don’t need your money. I don’t need the finals to make me happy. I just need to ride and know I did the best I could every time I competed.” Pure, lustful desire fired the dark amber to sunlight bright in Duke’s gaze. “Ride me.” His voice snaked across the air to her, thick and low. “Right here. Right now.” He braced his boots against the desk and bucked his hips roughly, tilting her on top of him. “Let me feel how you work one of them bulls you love so much.” He jerked sharply beneath her again. Excitement rolled through Risa and she threw her free arm up in the air, positioning herself and automatically shifting for balance. She tightened and flexed her groin muscles over Duke’s hips, moving with him and adjusting to stay upright every time he thrashed beneath her and tried to throw her off, all the while staying impaled on his buried cock. Duke’s hands slid from Risa’s thighs and gripped the lip of the desk. He held on so tight the muscles in his arms popped and strained. Perspiration dampened his hairline, and his teeth flashed white against his olive skin as his lips pulled back in a fierce, needful scowl. “Goddamnit.” He pumped his hips up and around in erratic gyrations, clearly completely lost in what they did. “You’re so fucking beautiful when you ride. I love you so much. Don’t ever leave me.” “Never, baby, never.” Risa rode him well beyond the eight seconds needed, and then victorious, quickly folded herself over his chest. Taking his face in her hands, she laid her forehead against his. “It’s okay. Let it go.” She brushed her lips against his, darting out to meet the tip of his questing tongue to hers. Pulling back, she whispered, “The love I feel for you scares me sometimes, too. You’re not alone. I promise”—she met the blur of his eyes…”you never need to worry about that again. We are together now, forever.” Choking cries tore at Duke’s vocal cords, the sound nearly inhuman. He wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her tied to him with bands of steel. He surged up into her one last time and burst within her, wringing a bone-shaking orgasm out of her too, and coating her inside with the hot, wet essence of his seed. Risa didn’t let go while she rode the wave, and neither did Duke. Their mouths connected in a deep, soul-sharing kiss, and both of them shook with shared completion. Risa wanted to stay on top of Duke and bask in his heat for at least the next fifty years or so. She blinked open her eyes, feeling almost drowsy, when her gaze landed on the clock hanging on the wall directly in front of her. “Oh, damn it!” She popped off Duke like a coiled spring and scrambled for her clothes. “I have to have Ty at Mrs. Drasdon’s house in forty-five minutes. I don’t want to get him in trouble for being late.” She pulled on her bra, shirt, and panties, but cursed a string of foul language that would make a sailor blush as her fingers became clumsy and she couldn’t untangle her jeans. “It won’t look good to the social worker if I can’t get the kids to where they’re supposed to be in a timely manner.” Duke adjusted his jeans and slid off the desk. “Here, let’s trade.” He took her inside out pants from her hands and handed her the application papers she’d thrown in his face earlier. “No…” She grabbed for her jeans, but he stepped out of her range and she only got air.

His gaze, serious as a heart attack, landed on hers. “Flip to the last page and take a look while I get your other boots.” He picked up her riding ones with the spurs still attached and moved to the couch. “In the duffel, I assume?” “Yeah.” Risa distractedly flipped through the pages, her mind on Ty and his afternoon of cleaning ahead. She got to the last page of the application and slipped it to the bottom of the pile. The next page was not the start of the application again, but rather the contact information of a lawyer. She read the notes jotted alongside the information, words written in strong script that she knew belonged to Duke. Risa looked up at Duke, the tears she’d managed to hold back from the moment he had shown up finally breaking through and streaming down her face. Her hands shook as she held up the paper. “Is this for real?” Duke nodded from across the office. “That’s the lawyer who helped me get Ren. Both times. He’s still in practice, and I talked to him this morning about your case.” He cleared his throat, and his own hands trembled a little as he picked up Risa’s boots. “Our case. He has agreed to help us in an advisory capacity, and he’s going to look into lawyers specializing in adoption here in Montana. He will make sure we have someone who understands the law and the court process, and someone we can trust. I put him on retainer and told him to get started today.” Everything inside Risa burst through her ability to contain it. She raced to Duke, hurling herself into his arms. He wrapped her up tight and lifted her right off the ground. Rubbing his cheek against hers, he groaned low in his throat. “Christ, I’ve missed you tackling me like this every time I make you happy.” He kissed her cheek, temple, and ear. “I take it I finally did the right thing by you without needing instructions first.” “You did a wonderful thing.” She kissed him all over his face, head, and shoulders, unable to stop. “You did the most perfect thing ever. I want those kids, and I can be a great mother to them, but I already know that you’re the greatest father in the world. My best friend is all the proof I need of that.” He lowered her slowly to the floor. “I hope I can be even better with a partner at my side,” he said, his voice scratchy with emotion. His eyes, however, glittered with happiness and hope as he held up her boots and jeans. “Now finish putting your clothes on so we can take our kid to his community service.” He slapped her fanny. “I don’t want the whole town seeing my woman half naked.” Risa fixated on Duke’s wide, hard chest, lascivious thoughts on her mind as she pulled on her jeans. “Same goes for you.” She stomped into her cowboy boots. “Put your shirt on, Sheriff. That body is only for me.” “That’s a damn good thing.” He snagged his flannel shirt off the floor, buttoning and tucking, his eyes never leaving her as he did it. “Seeing as how you’re the only one it responds to.” He zipped up her gear bag, slung it over his shoulder, and held out his hand. “Ready to go?” With this man, Risa had always been ready. She’d just had to bide her time and wait for him to see her too. Thinking of that, she paused before taking his hand. “Thank you,” she said, meeting his gaze, more open than she had ever seen it before. “Thank you for thinking about your ex-wife and allowing yourself to look at that time in your life, now that you have distance on it. Just as much”—her voice wavered with unchecked emotion…”thank you for sharing it with me. I know you didn’t have to do that. It means everything that you trusted me enough to talk about it openly. I could hear it in your

voice, I know how difficult it is for you to speak about stuff like that.” Duke nodded, his eyes suspiciously bright. “I would do anything for you.” He quickly shook off the seriousness, smiling as he waggled his hand. “Come on, woman. If you don’t take my hand I’m going to start getting a complex.” “Can’t have that.” Slipping her hand in his, Risa smiled back, sighing inside just like the starry-eyed seventeen-year-old girl had done in the diner on the day she’d fallen in love with Duke Boone. Risa finally had her sheriff. It was everything she had always imagined it would be. And so, so much more.

Epilogue Caleb moved in next to Duke. Duke growled. Damn it, the man had horrible timing. He rudely interrupted Duke’s favorite thing to do. Admiring his wife and family. Caleb followed Duke’s line of vision and chuckled. “Christ, Duke, do you ever stop and think about what a lucky bastard you are?” Duke never looked away from the picture of his wife geared up for competition, surrounded by their entire family. “Every damn day,” he answered, smiling secretly. Ty and Ruby, Ren and Cade, Risa’s mother Jean, hell, even Luke and Cain were close by, all here to cheer Risa on in her first trip to the finals. In the three years since they’d married she’d maintained that she didn’t need to compete in the biggest event of the season, but everyone around her knew that just having one shot at the grand prize would thrill her to no end, no matter that she didn’t require it to feel fulfilled. With Caleb’s help, and a little secrecy between him and the kids, Duke had entered his wife into the event, not telling her anything until the organization had notified him of her acceptance. When they’d finally told her, she sputtered, cried, and threw herself into his arms in that way that still made his heart race, whispering repeatedly how much she loved him. Later that night she thanked him in a much more intimate manner, one that still had him blushing and turning hard when he thought on it for too long. Christ, the things that woman could do with a bull rope. He was pretty damn sure the PBR didn't sanction such acts. Duke turned to Caleb, meeting the man’s wistful, but almost puzzled looking gaze. “Don’t worry,” Duke shared. “When it happens for you you’ll understand the worshipping I do from afar.” “No thanks.” Shaking his head, Caleb shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “I’ll leave all that falling in love stuff to you.” He shuddered. “Too messy and complicated for me.” Chuckling, Duke pushed away from the wall. “Yeah, that’s what I thought until Risa took over my heart. You’ll have to excuse me, I need to wish my wife luck before she rides.” Caleb glanced at his watch. “That’s still a couple of hours away.” Duke grinned at the other man. “The way I say it demands a little more time.” Duke walked away to the deep tones of Caleb’s rich, full laughter filling the long underground hallway. Halfway to her side, Risa glanced up and caught his eye, stealing his breath away with her loveliness. She smiled at him and winked, and he swore to God he straightened up to ten feet tall. Taking her hand when he reached her, he paused and looked up at their group, meeting his youngest son’s gaze. “Ty, you’ve got your sister, all right? Don’t let her wander too far away from you.” “Duuuuke,” Ruby’s adolescent voice cracked with impatience. “Gosh! I don’t need Ty following me around.” Ruby didn’t call them mom and dad yet. Neither did Ty, although they had expected

that with him. Maybe neither of them ever would; it didn’t matter, they were still a family. Even with Ty being nineteen now, Duke and Risa were most definitely the parents, legally and emotionally. Duke settled his gaze on Ruby. “All right, fine.” He kept his voice calm, tucking Risa against his chest and resting his chin on top of her head. “Then you can stay with Ren, or Luke, or Ms. Forrester. Those are your other options. Pick whichever one you want, but rest assured I am not letting my little girl wander around a rodeo all by herself. It’s not going to happen. Got it?” “Got it,” Ruby grumbled, turning from him back to the group, her shoulder length blond hair bouncing with soft curls. Duke untangled from Risa and moved in behind Ruby. Holding her head, he tilted her back until she looked up at him, familiar fire in her blue eyes. Christ, she had already adopted Risa’s personality in spades. “When I get back,” he said softly, “we can walk around the vendors for a little while, but that’s entirely up to you.” He raised an eyebrow down on her upturned face. “Understand?” Ruby pursed her lips, but eventually nodded. “Okay. I’ll stay with Ty. Will that make you happy?” “Very.” Duke leaned down and smacked a loud kiss on his daughter’s cheek. “Love you. Be good for me today. All right?” She nodded again, and he let her go. Risa moved in and linked her hands in Duke’s, turning and tugging him down the hallway in a back-walk, away from their little entourage. Desire darkened her eyes to the deepest forest green as she pulled him into the office the rodeo had assigned her for storing her gear and changing her clothes. “You are the single sexiest man alive.” She ran her hands over his chest and smiled brightly up at him. “Have I ever told you that?” “Not today.” Duke slammed the door and crowded Risa into it, dipping down until his mouth hovered over hers. Sliding his hands over the smooth leather and fringe covering her hips, he reached further around and cupped her ass, fitting her between his legs. Jesus, he never got tired of nestling himself against her heat. “Not that I ever get bored hearing it, but what did I do today to deserve such praise?” He tended to take notes when he made her happy, that way he could do more of the same, more often. The sheen in her eyes twisted right around his heart, yanking him under her spell. “The way you love our kids.” She slid her arms around his neck and whispered against his lips, “The way you love me.” “Easy to do, honey.” He settled his mouth over hers, kissing her with a slow thoroughness, exploring the lush softness of her loving lips. She opened up against him and swept his tongue with hers, and then rubbed herself against his cock, stirring him to instant, hard life. He groaned, sinking fast. He always did with her, no matter how hard he tried to take his time. Reaching for the buckle on her belt, he found the buckle to her chaps instead. Cursing, he struggled with the thin, flat, double buckle that rode low on her waist. “Damn it.” He broke the kiss as impatience and sexual frustration got the better of him. “Why in the hell do you put all this stuff on when you know I’m going to take it off you before you compete?” His wife’s wicked smile wrapped itself right around his cock, as if she’d dropped to her knees and took a long, sweet drag with her wonderful mouth. It affected him that

intensely. “Because you don’t take it off, sweetheart.” She pushed him away and sauntered sexily to the desk, those damn chaps of hers framing the enticing shape of her ass and making him salivate. Lifting her leg, she laid her spurred boot up on the desk, her inner thigh turned toward him, sexy as all get out. “I take it off for you. And I know how much you secretly like watching me remove every layer.” She paused, her eyes on him. “Just for you.” She caressed her inner thigh, and then glided up and rubbed over her pussy, pushing the seam of her jeans between the folds of her sex, collecting the moisture developing there already, he knew. In his mind, he could see her without the jeans, just wearing the chaps and vest, spreading herself wide open in invitation, just for him. He could picture it, because she had done it for him, more than once. Duke still didn’t understand how he got lucky enough to have this woman love him, but he had quickly smartened up and stopped questioning it, instead just basking in the glow of its reality. For whatever strange glitch the universe had hiccupped that put them together as a pair, Duke thanked the mix-up and prayed that no one ever discovered it. Behind his back, like a kid wishing for a homerun, Duke double-crossed his fingers and made a wish that he got to have Risa Forrester Boone as his for the rest of their lives. He made that wish every day. It was fanciful, but Risa was so precious to him that he couldn’t take any chances and risk losing her love. He had once confessed it to Ty, and his chest had constricted when Ty admitted that he said a little prayer of thanks to a higher power every morning for bringing Risa and Duke into his and his sister’s life. Duke had this amazing woman to thank for the other wonderful addition to his life too: two more kids to love. Just like with Ren, Duke could not have asked for any better. Risa’s panties flew across the air and landed on his face, filling him with her honey fragrance. She leaned back against the desk, beautiful in her nudity, her long, powerful legs crossed, and her arms braced against the edge. Her jutting berry nipples begged to be tasted, and the curls shielding her mound demanded he touch with his fingers, tingling over the springy softness to search for the wetness it protected. Risa held her ground, arching a brow. “See something you like?” “See something I love,” Duke corrected, his voice thickening with desire. Risa’s gaze trapped his prisoner in a place from which he had no interest in breaking free. “Me, too.” The sexy catch in her throat grabbed him by the heart every damn time. “I love you,” he uttered, his voice unnaturally hard with emotion. “I love you too, baby.” She beckoned him with one crook of her finger, and like a moth to the flame, he couldn’t stay away. She quickly had his jeans and underwear down around his hips, and herself wrapped around his waist. Her fingers twined through his hair, and she drew his face down to hers. Eyes glittering, Risa closed the distance between their lips. “Now wish me luck in that way only you can do.” Duke sank his tongue inside to mate as he surged inside Risa’s wet heat, groaning as they became one. Christ, he truly was the luckiest man alive. And he never, ever forgot it. The End

About the Author: I am an Air Force brat and spent most of my growing up years living overseas in Italy and England, as well as Florida, Georgia, Ohio, and Virginia while we were stateside. I now live in Florida once again with my big, wonderfully pushy family and my three-legged cat, Harry. I have been reading romance novels since I was twelve years old, and twenty years later I still adore them. Currently, I have an unexplainable obsession with hockey goaltenders, and an unabashed affection for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. I’d love to hear from you! Visit me on the Web at http://www.camerondane.com

Meet LSB Authors At The House Of Sin Lsbooks.NET We invite you to visit Liquid Silver Books LSbooks.com for other exciting erotic romances. 2007: Terran Realm Urban fantasy world: TerranRealm.com Featured Series: The Zodiac Series: 12 books, 24 stories and authors Two hot stories for each sign, 12 signs The Coven of the Wolf by Rae Morgan Benevolent lusty witches keep evil forces at bay Fallen: by Tiffany Aaron Fallen angels in hot flight to redeem their wings The Max Series by JB Skully Meet Max, her not-absent dead husband, sexy detective Witt, his mother… And many, many more!