Rough Riders Bundle 1(books 1, 2, 3) (63 page)

Jack lifted an eyebrow.

“If I didn’t tell him the gory details, I won’t tell you. So it was probably stupid and childish, but I kept it going like a running gag. I never believed he’d take me serious!” She gazed into the fire, feeling like an absolute idiot. “After all we’ve done, doesn’t he know I don’t need anyone else, I don’t want anyone else, and I can’t imagine being in bed with someone else when I’m equally crazy about him?”

“No, it appears he doesn’t know.”

Macie looked up and blushed. Crap. She’d forgotten about Jack.

“So why don’t you tell him?”

“Oh I will, just as soon as I kick his sorry butt.”

“That, I’d like to see.”

“I should teach him a lesson. Thank him in the morning for the most spectacular sex of my life, and the awesome threesome we had with you.” She toed a beer can toward the fire. “But I couldn’t do that.”

“Might be good for him.”

“I couldn’t hurt him. Not on purpose.” She sensed Jack’s hesitation and her gaze zoomed to him. “What?”

“Can I give you some advice, Macie?”

“Sure.”

“Carter is a great guy. But his artistic nature sometimes causes him to do stupid things that make sense to him at the time.”

Macie thought of Carter’s over-the-top reaction to her sitting on the back of a mechanical bull. Yeah. That made sense.

“He eventually sees the error of his skewed thinking, but not right away. He wouldn’t do anything to hurt you on purpose either…but accidentally?” Jack shook his head. “It’ll happen. More likely than not.”

Even if she didn’t understand what Jack meant, his words were a little disturbing. She stood. “I should go. Thanks for not hitting on me for real and for being a good friend to Carter.”

“McKay is a lucky man. Make sure you send me an invitation to the wedding.”

“Or an announcement for his funeral.”

‡

C
arter woke at
two in the afternoon with a hellacious hangover.

Shit. What’d happened last night?

He remembered Jack showing up. And drinking. Talking about seeing if Jack was up for a rodeo with Macie. More drinking.

Macie. She’d been here.

What had gone down after that?

Carter lurched up on the couch. Goddamn, that hurt his head. He looked down. At least he was wearing his boxers.

“Jack?”

No answer.

He stood. Ooh. That was worse than laying down. He stumbled past the guest bedroom and froze. The bed hadn’t been slept in.

So where had Jack slept?

With Macie.

Not possible. Jack wouldn’t…

Unless Carter gave him the okay. And he’d bypassed “okay” and gone straight to “what are you waiting for?” when he asked—no—
demanded
that Jack fuck Macie.

Damn.

Carter shuffled to his bedroom. The sheets and the mattress pad were stripped and rolled in a ball. What the hell? Why?

Because they are damp and stained from being well used last night.

His gaze swept the room, searching for condom wrappers, used Kleenex, a bottle of lube.

Nothing. Except Macie’s sweater hung off the dresser and the scent of her skin hung in the air.

He sat on the bed. Hard.

Images flashed in his mind like a movie on fast forward. Jack and Macie kissing. Deeply. Hungrily. Jack unbuttoning Macie’s shirt, feasting on her dark nipples. Macie arching her neck, moaning, demanding more. Macie shoving Jack’s hand down her pants. Jack tearing off her shorts, leaving her naked.

Jack falling to his knees as he kissed the sweet curve of her belly. And down, over the dark hair covering her mound and down, zeroing in on her pussy. Spreading her pouty lips wide to reach her clit. Sucking. Licking. Making Macie cry out in ecstasy. Jack stood and whispered in her ear while plunging three fingers in and out of her wet slit until she came screaming his name.

Macie stretched out on the bed, watching as Jack whipped off his jeans. Then Jack straddled her, burying his face in her sopping cunt as his cock rammed in and out of Macie’s mouth. The slow easy rhythm built into a rush to the finish. Jack’s hips pumped faster into her face. Macie ground her sex harder into his. They climaxed simultaneously. Macie sucked him deep and swallowed, but some of Jack’s come dribbled out the side of her mouth as she smiled. When Jack lifted his head, his face was shiny wet with her juices.

Jack flipped her on her belly and rammed his cock in her cunt as his fingers dallied with her asshole. After they’d both come again, he lubed up Macie’s tits and fucked her there, while Macie’s vibrator was buried in her pussy.

She screamed Jack’s name again as her orgasm hit and he came on her face.

Then Jack took her ass. Twice. First with his cock. Then with the vibrator as he gave it to Macie from behind.

But that wasn’t the end. Jack tenderly cleaned Macie up, kissing her. Caressing her. Sweet-talking her. Making Macie purr beneath his roving hands. And when she was heated up again, he fucked her slowly, face-to-face, whispering in her ear. Making love to her mouth as his body made love to hers. Then they fell asleep curled in each other’s arms, smiles of satisfaction on their faces.

No wonder the sheets were rolled up. Hell, they’d probably worn holes in them and the mattress too.

But… Had he really seen that? Why hadn’t they asked him to join in? After all, it was supposed to be a three-for-all.

No, three’s a crowd.

The bottom line was: Carter couldn’t remember and that made him an idiot and a loser.

The very bottom line? If the images were reality, not the blurred imaginings of an alcohol stupor, Jack Donohue was a dead man.

*

Carter didn’t see
Jack’s rental car in the parking lot of the Last Chance Diner.

So who was the dark-haired guy Macie was chatting up at the counter?

Maybe Jack had left his car at Macie’s camper. And had spent all day hanging out with her. Talking to her, doing normal couple shit he hadn’t had time for lately.

Seething, Carter stormed inside.

The place was deserted. Good. Less witnesses for the bloodshed.

The dark-haired man had his hand on Macie’s arm. She was smiling at him.
Smiling
.

He couldn’t wait to plow his fist into the bastard’s face.

“Get your hand off her, Jack, or I’ll break it so you never draw another goddamn thing.”

Macie looked up at him, horrified. “Carter?”

“Stay out of this, Macie. This is between Jack, and me.”

“But—”

“Turn around, coward. I won’t sucker punch you, like you sucker punched me. ’Cause I wanna see teeth fly when I belt you in the mouth for trying to steal my girl.”

Jack eased the stool around slowly.

Carter braced himself and cocked his fist.

But the man facing him wasn’t Jack Donohue. It was his brother Colby’s friend, Trevor Glanzer.

“Trevor? What the hell are you doin’ here?”

“Planning on kicking your butt as soon as I finish my pie. What is wrong with you, Carter? It ain’t like you to pick fights.”

Carter ignored the question and glanced at Macie. “Where’s Jack?”

“How should I know? He’s
your
friend.”

“Because last night…” Damn. Could he be wrong? Could he really be that paranoid?

Yes, when it came to Macie all rationality vanished.

Because he loved her.

Wildly.

Out-of-his-freakin’-mind-all-or-nothing-kind-of-love.

Without taking his gaze from Macie, Carter said, “Trevor. Step outside for a minute.”

Trevor mumbled something and slipped out the door.

“Please fill in the fuzzy details.”

Macie’s eyes narrowed. “After you passed out, Jack passed on the real reason you’d asked him here, and I passed on being any part of it.”

“Really?”

“No. I went
Wahoo!
and screwed his brains out while you were sacked out in the lawn chair.”

The feeling of relief nearly buckled his knees. “So you didn’t, I mean, you don’t want that?”

“A ménage? I was kidding about multiple cowboys, Carter.”

“You were?”

“That’s not something I’m interested in trying at this point in my life.” Those all-knowing hazel eyes clouded. “Hey. Did you just call me your
girl
?”

“Yes, you are my girl.”
My everything
.

“I am not a
girl
, Carter McKay.”

“Girl, woman, whatever, you’re mine and I was ready to kill my best friend for making a move on you.”

“He didn’t.”

“Lucky for him.” Carter stalked her, until her back was against the cement wall. “Kiss me and make me all better, darlin’. Your sweet, hot kisses heal my damn foolish pride.”

Macie whispered, “You are such a dumbass,” and lifted her lips to his for the sweetest kiss on the planet.

When Carter could feel his heart beating again, he picked Macie up and threw her over his shoulder. He yelled, “Velma? Macie’s taking a sick day. She’s feeling a mite poorly.”

Velma poked her head through the doorway and grinned. “That’s fine. Just make sure she’s here tomorrow.”

“She’ll be here bright and early with bells on.”

She sighed. “Definitely better than dinner theater.”

As Carter carted Macie outside, she said, “Trevor? Umm. Tell my dad I won’t be home tonight.”

“
All
night,” Carter added and tossed her in his truck.

*

Macie expected Carter
to play grab-ass with her on the way to his place. But he was strangely subdued. He parked and looked at her.

“Stay here until I come get you, okay?”

She nodded. After ten minutes passed, she couldn’t stand waiting any longer. She snuck inside the darkened trailer and heard him thumping around in his bedroom.

“Carter?”

“I thought I told you—”

“Yeah, I know. I don’t listen very well.” Macie paused in the doorway and watched him wrestling with a set of silky peach-colored sheets. Which, by the looks of it, were a size too small, which was probably the reason they wouldn’t fit on the bed. “What are you doing?”

“Screwing this up, apparently.” Disgusted, he tossed the sheets aside. “I wanted it to be perfect.” A sound, half sigh/half laugh, rumbled from his chest. He scrubbed his hands over the stubble on his face. “But there isn’t moonlight, hell, it isn’t even night. I don’t have candles, or soft music. No flowers. Or champagne. Now I can’t even get the damn sheets on the bed. And to top it off, I have a wicked hangover. Some romantic setting, huh?”

“Why are you setting a scene? I don’t need all that for you to seduce me.”

Carter looked at her. Her breath stalled in her lungs. Those blue, blue eyes held everything she’d ever wanted and he was looking at her. Offering it to her.

“It’s not about seduction. It’s about love. I love you, Macie. Really, really love you and I’ve never said that to another girl—woman—in my whole life. And I wanted it to be perfect when I told you—”

His words were cut off when she launched herself at him and kissed him. When Carter realized she was crying, he pulled back.

“Hey. What’s this?”

Macie couldn’t answer. She buried her face in his neck and sobbed. He hugged her tightly until she calmed down. She finally looked up at him. “I really, really love you too, Carter, and I’ve never said that to anyone either.”