Cowboy Jackpot: St. Patrick's Day (13 page)

“Right. But we can let your lawyer do some
finagling with a pre-nup.”

“No.” She shook her head. She trusted him
with her life.

“Yes. I want to make it one hundred percent
clear to you why I’m with you.” He kissed her then, his mouth
molding to hers, his tongue sweeping and tasting, wiping away any
remaining doubts about him, along with all her uncertainties about
herself. He slowed the kiss then touched his forehead on hers. “We
need more time together, too. Alone. To test out this ‘love’
theory.” He grinned. “In a couple dozen different positions.”

She kissed him, pouring all her emotion into
that one touch of their lips. “I’d like that.” She sighed. “But
where?”

“Somewhere no one can find us.”

In the other room, Stormie’s phone rang
again. They both laughed. She looked at the clock. Three in the
morning. “It’s probably just Kira again. She said she’d be checking
in if she didn’t hear from me.”

He smacked her butt. “You get that, I’ll run
and clean up, and we’ll meet back here.”

They broke apart, he walked into the bathroom
and she went into the other room, grabbed her phone, and sat on the
bed with it. Three voice messages.

The first was Kira. “Just want to check if
you’re okay. Call me.” The second, Kira again. “Hey, let me know if
you’re on the road or holed up somewhere with that cowboy.” The
third was a couple seconds of Kira breathing hard. “Stormie, we’ve
got a problem here.”

Jayden walked out and stopped when he saw the
concern on her face. He sat on his heels in front of her, his hands
softly holding her thighs.

“It’s Kira,” Stormie whispered and pressed
the speaker button on the phone.

His gaze never left her face.

Kira cleared her throat. “Rance got stupid
drunk and fell off the mechanical bull. He pulled something in his
groin. He’s in a lot of pain.”

Jayden shook his head.

“The guys are taking him to an urgent care.”
Kira’s voice grew stronger. “I’m calling Taylor to see what she
thinks.” She sighed. “Would you at least text me and let me know
you’re okay?”

Jayden stood and Stormie got to her feet and
wrapped her arms around Jayden. “I’m so sorry about Rance.”

He hefted out a breath. “Injuries are part of
rodeo, but for him to take himself out of the circuit riding a
mechanical bull.” His breath grew shallow, then he burst out
laughing. “God, the poor guy must feel like shit.”

Stormie frowned at him. “Jayden. That’s not
very nice.”

“Cutie, I don’t mean to be a jackass, but
this kind of injury he’ll recover from fast and be back on a bull
in no time. There are a lot of worse injuries that could have ended
his career. Shoulder, back, hip, knee. This type of pull happens a
lot. It’s painful, but with the right rehab, it’s not major.”

She nodded. “I guess you know this stuff.”
She started a text to Kira, telling her she was safe and happy.

Jayden ran his fingers through her hair. “And
when we get back to Vegas and you teach him your healing
visualization meditation voodoo, he’ll be ridin’ within a
week.”

She smiled. “Yes he will. And with Taylor’s
help, maybe sooner.”

“Taylor is who, again?”

“She’s a registered nurse specializing in
trauma. She was at Gigi’s bachelorette party last month.” Stormie
finished the text and hit send.

Jayden looked lost.

“Brown hair in a ponytail, short.” She held
up her hand at about shoulder height.

He grimaced. “Can’t recall.”

“Kind of mousy, thick glasses.”

“Oh, right.” He shook his head with a grin.
“Sorry, I still don’t remember her. Only saw you that day.”

Stormie pressed her hand to his chest, over
his heart. Her cowboy was so damn sweet. “Well, Rance remembers
her. Word has it they got into some kind of fight when everyone
went out dancing after the bachelor and bachelorette parties.”

Jayden kissed her nose. “When we were off
getting’ hitched?”

She smiled. “Mm hm.” Something struck her as
important. “Hey, did you say we were going back to Vegas?”

He nodded. “Do you mind? I know you wanted to
stay here, but I wanna help with Rance.” He got them walking toward
the bathroom. “And you’re gonna hate to leave when you see this.”
He flipped on the bathroom light.

A huge bathtub took up half the room. “Wow.”
They could do all kinds of sexy things in there.

“They call it a Roman Tub.” Jayden’s grin
widened as he pointed up.

On the ceiling above the tub, there was a
huge mirror. “Oh, cowboy. We’ve gotta try this out right now.”

He pulled her up against him, his skin hot
and tempting against hers. “You know I’ll do anything you want,
cutie. Anything to make you happy.” His gaze held honesty and
something more. Something that made her heart stutter with joy.

“’Cause we’re married?” The pleasure of that
fact made it hard to take a deep breath.

Jayden pressed a soft kiss to her mouth and
locked his gaze with hers. “’Cause I love you, Stormie Thompson
Hancock. And I get the strong impression that I always will.”

####

"Buckle bunnies to your left."

Boone Hancock turned his head at Dallas's
alert.

Two cuties stood at one of the giant slot
machines. They both smiled and waved.

Dallas tipped back his cowboy hat. "I'm
puttin' dibs on the redhead."

Boone glanced at her, but his gaze shot back
to the angel with the long black hair and pale skin. Her curves,
packed into a petite little body, captured his complete focus. Her
slinky purple dress and black spike-heeled sandals shouted she was
ready to party.

"Look at those legs." Dallas raised his hand
in a return greeting.

The redhead wore a green dress that showed
off her nice breasts and skimmed her thin body. Boone smiled. "You
like the tall, leggy ones, buddy. I'm likin' her girlfriend. She's
a hot little bundle."

"Let's get 'em." Dallas took a step
forward.

"Wait." Boone stopped him with a hand on his
shoulder. "Remember, one night. Two at the most."

"Yeah, yeah."

"You say that like you mean it, but we
promised to keep each other out of the deep shit."

Dallas looked him square in the eyes. "I
learned my lesson the hard way. You don't have to babysit me."

Boone had watched Dallas going through hell
two months ago with the girl he thought was the one for him. It had
affected his buddy's performance in the arena, and his ability to
stay sober.

Boone's little brother, Jayden, caught up to
them and busted in between them. "What's going on?"

Dallas nodded toward the two girls. "Couple
ladies recognized us and want us to come and say howdy." He flicked
the brim of Jaden's cowboy hat. "Now get lost. They're both spoken
for."

"Mmm, I'm liking that redhead." Jayden
grinned at her.

Boone looked back at the women. The shorter
one—his—waved them over.

"Called dibs." Dallas hitched up his jeans
and headed toward the girls.

Jayden caught up to him. "We'll see, won't
we."

Boone quick-stepped and lined up next to his
brother. As they got closer, he saw his cutie's eyes watching him.
Hazel. Damn. Beautiful eyes, beautiful face, a body that he needed
tight against his. It didn't take any effort to slide into charming
cowboy mode. His body warmed, primed and ready to sweet-talk this
little honey 'till her toes curled.

****

Gieselle Colberg-Staub leaned against the
Birthday Baby slot machine, her knees wobbly and her stomach
jittering as she watched Boone Hancock walk toward her. "I can't
believe it. They're actually coming over here."

Kira twirled a lock of hair around one finger
and made a shy smile at the cowboys. "Of course they're coming over
here. How could they resist?"

Gieselle sucked in a calming breath. She'd
watched Boone win the bull riding competition this afternoon, and
now he—and his big, shiny belt buckle—headed her way. "God, he's
cute." Shaggy blonde hair touched his collar at the back of his
black cowboy hat. A purple and black print western shirt and the
sexiest jeans she'd ever seen on a man.

"That big, dark haired hunk is fucking
gorgeous." Kira sipped her vodka tonic.

"That's Dallas Burns. He came in third in
bareback riding today." She glanced at her friend. "Weren't you
watching?'

Kira sniffed. "You saw that sexy cowboy
sitting right behind us. He was worth watching."

Gieselle had picked up a love of rodeo from
her college roommate, but this was the first live event she'd
attended. Now the sexy stars she'd drooled over headed straight
toward her. She held back a nervous giggle. "Dallas is definitely
your type with those dark eyes."

"Oh yes, my heart is thumping." Kira stirred
the ice in her drink with the straw. "So, we agree? Dallas for me
and Boone for you?"

Gieselle licked her lips. She would let
herself go a little crazy this holiday break, because what happens
in Vegas, hopefully stays in Vegas. "Agreed." She squinted. "What
about the third one?"

Kira laughed. "Oh, now you're getting
kinky?"

Gieselle sent her a look. "That's your
specialty, girl."

The cowboys reached them, sauntering up with
wicked grins on their faces, like they expected Kira and her to
peel down naked and let them have a quickie right here on the
casino floor.

Gieselle liked the cockiness.

####

Dallas Burns shifted on the plush chair in
the high-stakes area of the Old West Casino in Las Vegas. He tipped
his black cowboy hat back on his head and glanced around the red
velvet-lined room.

Hell, he hoped his buddies didn't see him
playing roulette. Not that it was a woman's game or anything, but
rodeo men only talked about poker. The way they liked to tease each
other, this would be a tough one to live down.

"Twenty-four black." The dealer set five more
chips on Dallas's bet on Black, and five on his Even bet.

He scooped up his winnings and stacked them
in front of him. He'd been fascinated with the game since he was a
kid watching an old cowboy movie. Tonight, he was having the best
luck of his life. He did a quick count. He had over six thousand
dollars in chips and he'd started with three hundred.

He set five chips on First Twelve, and five
on Odd. Mixing it up had been working for him tonight. The table
was busy. Seven other people stood or sat around the board and
placed bets that were quite a bit larger than his. A few wrists
flashed diamond-studded watches as they set down their chips.

He glanced around the room and caught a very
familiar green gaze.

Kira Morrow. Her eyes opened wide and she
leaned toward the strawberry blonde next to her, pointed at him,
and said something he knew couldn't be good.

Kira wore a soft-looking blue sleeveless
dress and low-heeled white sandals that matched the little purse
hanging on her shoulder. It was nearly noon, had they been out on
the strip? Her bright red hair hung loose and shimmery halfway down
her back. He'd loved running his fingers through it two months ago
at Christmas. The day his buddy Boone had met his fiancée, Gigi,
right here in this same casino.

Dallas, Boone, and his brother Jayden, had
been competing in a rodeo put on for local charities. They'd driven
down from Reno for a few days, and had run into Gigi and Kira, who
they'd mistaken for buckle bunnies.

Dallas looked back at the table, hoping she
would keep walking. He and Kira had gotten into a nasty dust-up on
Christmas Day. She'd stormed off and flown back to New York before
he'd had a chance to cool down and apologize.

Her unmistakable floral scent threaded
through his nostrils and into his brain, making his body remember
how he'd wanted her crazily back then. He turned his head.
"Kira."

"Dallas." She stood right next to him, too
close for safety.

She looked better than ever, her long body
slim and graceful, her beautiful breasts large and round.

"Stop staring at my tits."

A couple people at the table laughed.

He met her gaze. "Then get them the heck out
of my face."

She lifted a brow. "As charming as ever, I
see." She gestured to his other side. "This is my cousin
Stormie."

He turned and started to rise.

"Oh, don't get up." Stormie pressed her hand
on his shoulder, keeping him down. She was strong. Her denim shorts
showed toned legs ending in flip flops, and her white tank top
displayed some noticeable but feminine arm muscles.

He held out his hand to her. "My condolences
for being attached by blood to this…sweet lady."

Stormie giggled and shook his hand, then
leaned closer to Dallas. "She's always been mean, but now I'm big
enough to fight back."

He took a closer look at her. Green eyes like
Kira's, pale skin with cute freckles. Much too young for him, but
he liked her spunk. "Are you here for the bachelorette party?"

"Dallas?" Kira interrupted. "Can I play a
chip?"