Ash: A Beckett Brothers Novel Book 2 (The Beckett Brothers)

by Susan Fisher-Davis

  “Thanks, honey. You enjoy that cowboy and hold on to him as long as you can. That one’s a keeper.”

  The women smiled at her then walked out of the hotel. Cassie sighed. Ash was definitely worth keeping but was she the one capable of keeping him? He was so different from Ross but the thought of being hurt again scared the living daylights out of her. Once a woman had her heart broken, she wasn’t sure she would be able to put it back out there again. Even for someone like Ash. She’d thought about it often that it was possible Ash could rip her heart out. If that happened, she wasn’t sure she’d survive it. She had such low self-esteem and trust issues when it came to men.

  Sighing, she took a seat on the sofa in the lobby and looked around. This had been a wonderful trip, and she knew she’d keep seeing him once they returned home, but for how long? Blowing out a slow breath, she glanced toward the doors. Should she wait for him or just go to her room? They’d agreed to meet a little after six and looking at her watch, she saw it was ten minutes after. Mentally shrugging, she decided to wait for him.

  Feeling as if she were being watched, she glanced around to see the receptionist who’d checked them in yesterday. Was it only yesterday? Cassie stared back at her then laughed when the woman gave her a thumbs up and smiled at her. Cassie nodded then looked toward the doors again. She stood when she saw him walking across the parking lot with that cowboy swagger that was even sexier on him. Mentally groaning, she couldn’t keep her eyes off his crotch.

  Ash Beckett could be an ad for those jeans, both front and back. His red T-shirt hugged his chest and flat stomach. God! She loved his chest and that six-pack stomach. She wanted to follow that happy trail that arrowed down from his belly button with her tongue. It was so sexy. She grinned when she remembered whispering that to him. Poor man almost choked to death on his drink. She’d never been so bold in her life but with Ash, she loved telling him what she wanted to do to him. He had no problem whispering in her ear how he loved being inside her.

  Shivering, she watched him enter the lobby and hesitate when he saw her, then he grinned and strode up to her.

  “Hi, darlin’,” he said.

  “Hi. I thought I’d wait for you here.”

  “I’m glad you did. Let’s go eat.”

  “You look like you got a lot,” she said as she looked at the large bag he carried.

  “I got almost everything on the menu. You know how it is when you have Chinese. You get hungry again pretty quickly.”

  “Especially if we work up an appetite.” She glanced over at him then laughed when he groaned.

  “The hell with dinner,” he murmured.

  “Oh no. I’m hungry, and you’ll need your strength.”

  “You are going to kill me.”

  Cassie laughed and looped her arm through his as they walked to the elevator. After stepping inside, Ash set the bag down, pulled her to him, and took her lips in a deep, hard kiss. Cassie moaned and wrapped her arms around his neck, plastering her body against him. She could feel his hard cock behind the fly of his jeans. He raised his lips from hers.

  “Do you feel what you do to me?”

  “Yes,” she whispered.

  They sprang apart when the elevator doors opened, and another couple stepped in. Ash pulled Cassie in front of him making her snicker. She knew he did it to cover the bulge behind his fly. She felt him lean down, his warm breath tickling her ear.

  “Not funny, darlin’,” he growled low.

  Cassie looked up at him. “Yeah, it is.”

  Ash wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed his hips to her backside. “You’ll pay for that.”

  “Can’t wait, cowboy,” she whispered in his ear.

  “Hell,” Ash muttered making her laugh again.

  The couple turned to look at them and smile. Ash put his fingers to his hat, and Cassie smiled.

  “Did you check the horse?”

  “Yep, she’s fine. I’m sure she’s been in worse places. It’s just too bad we can’t tell her we’re rescuing her, but she’ll learn.”

  “I’ll need to ask Mom and Dad who their vet is.”

  “They use Dr. Garrett.”

  “Is he good?”

  “She and yes, she specializes in equine. None better.”

  A stab of jealousy ripped through her. Apparently, Ash thought a lot of Dr. Garrett, and she couldn’t help but wonder what this vet looked like. Cassie nibbled on her bottom lip. Her insecurities were kicking in again. Had Ash slept with the vet? Was there anything still between them? He was so hot and sexy. She was sure any woman he’d been with would hate to give him up because she hated the idea of it ending, but end it would. She couldn’t risk her heart again.

  Glancing at him from under her lashes, she knew she was much closer to giving him her heart than she’d thought. Jealousy was a horrible thing, but the green-eyed monster was rearing its ugly head and she couldn’t stop it.

  “I’ll call her when we get home and have her check out the mare.”

  “Tess will love that mare. She’s a sucker for rescued animals.” Ash grinned.

  Tess? He was on a first name basis with the woman. Cassie cleared her throat.

  “Is she your vet too?”

  “Oh yeah. Tess took over for Doc Carter a while back. Clifton and surrounding towns love her.”

  “I see,” she murmured. Just how well does he know this woman?

  Ash put his arm around her and picked the bag up when the elevator stopped on his floor. “Let’s get some food in us. I’m starving and like you said, I’ll need my strength.”

  He kissed her temple then led her down the hallway and stopped at his door. Setting the bag down, he pulled out his keycard and inserted it. After pushing the door open, he nodded for her to enter.

  Cassie took a deep breath and entered the room even as she wondered if this was really a good idea. Maybe it was better to leave things as a one night stand. Ash walked past her and set the food on the table then started taking the containers out. He stopped, looked at her, and raised an eyebrow.

  “Are you all right?”

  “Yes, of course.”

  “There’s no of course about it. You seem distant. What’s up?”

  “Nothing, I’m just hungry.” She walked toward him, smiling. The smell of the food was making her stomach growl, but the sudden thought of being just another notch on this cowboy’s hitching post had it churning.

  “I hear your stomach.” He winked at her and handed her the container her food was in, along with a plastic fork and napkins. He held up chopsticks, and she shook her head. She’d never been able to master those.

  She took the fork and napkins from him, climbed onto the bed, toed her boots off, and crossed her legs. This jealous thing was new to her. She’d never been jealous of Ross with another woman. Even finding out he was screwing around on her had only angered her, she’d never really been jealous. He’d always looked at other women, and she never cared. Looking over at Ash, she knew she’d hate seeing him look at another woman. She wanted to be the only one he looked at, but the terror she felt at putting her heart out there again made her nearly hyperventilate.

  “Tell me about Dr. Garrett. How well do you know her?” She hoped she’d made it sound casual enough that he’d think she was just curious about the veterinarian.

  Ash moved to sit beside her on the bed with his food. He toed his boots off, swung his legs onto the bed, and crossed them at the ankles.

  “I met her when she came to my ranch for a sick horse. She’s very professional.”

  “Is she pretty?” Why did you ask that?

  Ash glanced at her and grinned. “Yes. Beautiful, in fact. Why?”

  “Just wondering.”

  “Just wondering, huh? Well, like I said, she’s beautiful and also married to a good friend of mine.”

  “She’s married?” Cassie inwardly sighed with relief.

  “Yep, to Sam Garrett, the Sheriff of Clifton County.”

  “I rememb
er him. He pulled me over once about three years ago when I was in Clifton. He’s gorgeous.” Cassie laughed when Ash narrowed his eyes at her. “But so are you.”

  A big grin split his face. “I am?”

  “Oh, please. Like you don’t know you are. You turn heads everywhere you go, Ash.”

  He leaned over and kissed her. “I’m only interested in turning yours, Cassidy,” he said against her lips.

  Cassie moaned when he deepened the kiss and slowly moved his tongue into her mouth. She tangled her tongue with his. Ash pulled back from her and looked into her eyes.

  “You’re so beautiful, Cassidy.” His eyes glanced at her lips then back to her eyes.

  Being jealous was only making her more fearful than she realized, so she touched his lightly whiskered cheek. “You’re such an amazing man, Ash.” She leaned forward and kissed him.

  “When can I see you once we get home?”

  “Um, let’s see. We’ll get home tomorrow around noon, so how about around six?”

  Ash chuckled. “Sounds good to me. Your place or mine?”

  “How about yours? Can you make dinner?”

  Ash leaned back and raised his eyebrows. “I’m an awesome cook, darlin’. I can cook a mean steak.”

  “Steak it is then. I’ll be there at six.”

  “I’ll fix breakfast too,” he whispered as he leaned in to kiss her again.

  “Deal,” she said against his lips.

  Ash leaned back and picked up the remote, aimed it at the TV and scrolled the guide. She presumed he was looking for a movie.

  “Oh, stop on that one,” Cassie said and sat up. “I love this movie.”

  “What is it?”

  “Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves. It has the best song in it.”

  “It does, huh? I think I’ve seen the movie before, but it’s been a long time. What song?”

  “Bryan Adams’ Everything I do, I do it for you. Such a romantic song.”

  “I guess,” Ash said.

  Cassie laughed at him. “Trust me.”

  Ash looked into her eyes and for a moment, he seemed to look straight into her soul. “I do.”

  Her heart skipped a crazy surprising beat as she stared at him and watched his eyes roam over her face before stopping on her lips. She couldn’t help but lick them.

  He closed his eyes for a few seconds and when he opened them, she could see the heat in them. Never had a man ever looked at her the way Ash did, and it was such a turn on. He knew what a woman wanted and needed. She smiled when he grinned at her then picked up his chopsticks and started to eat.

  “How do you use those? I drop everything.”

  He put a piece of sweet and sour chicken in his mouth, chewed, and swallowed. “It takes skill.”

  Cassie laughed. “It must. But then you do have amazing…skill.” She leaned forward and kissed him.

  “Now I’m sure I’ve created a monster,” he said.

  “Yep. I’ve never talked to a man the way I talk with you. I feel like I can say anything to you.”

  “Well, you certainly did at the auction. I almost choked to death.”

  She burst out laughing and leaned back against the headboard. “I can’t believe I said that, but I liked the way you reacted.”

  “I reacted a lot more than what you saw.” He waggled his eyebrows and grinned.

  Cassie gasped then laughed. “And you didn’t tell me?”

  “Hell no. You would have taken advantage of me for sure. Tell me I’m wrong.”

  “Nope. Not wrong.” She scooped some shrimp fried rice out and fed it to him.

  Ash ate it then smiled at her. “I want to leave early tomorrow morning, is that all right with you?”

  “Yes, of course. The sooner we get back, the sooner I can work with Patches.”

  Ash groaned. “I can’t believe her name is Patches. A Paint named Patches is almost as bad as a palomino named Golden Boy.” He laughed when she narrowed her eyes at him.

  “It’s a good thing I like you, Ashford Beckett.”

  “I knew I never should have told you my name,” he muttered.

  Cassie grinned. “Hurry and eat, I want to take a bath in that Jacuzzi with you.”

  Ash grabbed the container out of her hand and set it on the bedside table. “I’m done. Come on.”

  Then he set his food down, stood, and pulled on her hand. After he pulled her off the bed, he lifted her, tossed her over his shoulder, and headed for the bathroom. She let out a squeal but ran her hands down his back to his butt.

  “You have such a great ass. The way you fill out these jeans should be illegal.”

  Ash grabbed her ass. “Same to you.”

  ****

  Ash set her down inside the bathroom, cupped her face in his hands, and lowered his head. He pressed his lips to hers and moved his tongue along the seam of her lips until she opened to him. Her tongue touched his making him groan in her mouth. He slowly raised his lips from hers.

  “God, what you do to me, darlin’,” he whispered.

  Cassidy’s hands went to the bottom of his T-shirt then she rolled it up and over his head, tossing it to the floor. He sucked in a breath when she raked her nails down his chest to his stomach, stopping at the snap of his jeans. She looked into his eyes as she unsnapped them and slowly lowered the zipper. When he reached for the bottom of her T-shirt, she stepped away from him and smiled up at him then she leaned over and turned the water on in the Jacuzzi. She lifted her T-shirt off over her head, let it drop to the floor, and stood before him in her jeans and black lace bra then she lowered the zipper on her jeans and shimmied out of them.

  “Holy shit. You are so gorgeous,” Ash said and reached for her.

  She wiggled her finger at him. “No. I want to take your jeans off and do what I said I wanted to.”

  Ash clenched his jaw and tightened his hands into fists when she kneeled before him and lowered his jeans and boxer briefs to his ankles. His hard cock jutted forward, and she grasped it in her hand then leaned close, and kissed the head. Ash thrust his fingers into her hair and arched his hips forward as she kept sliding her mouth down over him. Her hand pumped along his length as she sucked. Fuck! If he were honest with himself, he’d admit he’d been thinking of this since she said that to him at the auction. His balls tightened, and he knew he was too close, too soon.

  “Cassidy, stop,” he moaned.

  “Nope,” she said without removing her mouth, and it made him shudder.

  Ash moaned. “I’m too close…please.”

  “Shhh.”

  Tightening his hands in her hair, a groan ripped from him as his orgasm claimed him and he came hard. His hips jerked as his hands fisted in her hair. He gulped in deep breaths trying to calm himself. Cassidy stood and kissed his lips.

  “How about that bath, cowboy?”

  “I don’t think I can move yet.”

  Cassidy laughed. “Well, I’ll be in there waiting for you.” She turned from him, and he grasped her arm to spin her around to face him.

  “Cassidy…damn. That was amazing, thank you.” He leaned down and kissed her. “I’ll give back.”

  “Oh, I know you will. Later. Come on.” She smiled up at him, unhooked her bra, tossed it to the floor, along with her panties, and then stepped into the tub.

  Taking a deep breath, Ash kicked his jeans, boxer briefs, and socks off then he stepped in behind her and pulled her back against his chest. She leaned back against him, and he wrapped his arms around her and rested his cheek on top of her head. Reaching out, he hit the button for the jets, and the hot water swirled around them. He could get so used to this.

  “Why didn’t you have kids while you were married?” he asked and felt her stiffen. “Cassidy?”

  “We tried for several years, and I never got pregnant. My doctor told me he couldn’t understand why. Ross said his doctor told him he was fine too. I took fertility pills, and nothing helped. I really wanted children.”

  Ash kissed the top of h
er head. “There’s always adoption.”

  She nodded but didn’t say anything, and he knew the subject was closed.

  “I have a little confession to make,” he said, chuckling.

  Cassidy sat up, turned to face him, and raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

  “The day you had me take Golden Boy home to train, Belinda came to see me.” He watched as her eyes narrowed and he couldn’t stop the grin. “It had been over for us for quite a while, but she wouldn’t accept it. Anyway, I told her to leave and headed to the bathroom to take a shower. Next thing I knew, she stepped into the shower with me. I told her to get out, but she…dropped to her knees and started to give me head.”

  “Ash, I don’t need to hear this,” she muttered.

  “Sure you do because it concerns you.” He leaned forward and quickly kissed her lips.

  “How?”

  “I made her leave, but I couldn’t stop thinking of you doing it for me.”

  Cassidy gasped. “Really?”

  “Yep, but I do have to say, the reality was so much better than the fantasy.”

  A big grin lit up her face. “Glad to hear it. I can’t wait to do it for you again.” Cupping his lightly whiskered cheeks in her hands, she kissed him making him groan.

  “I’ll let you,” he whispered before taking her lips in a deep kiss.

  “Tell me about your family. You said you inherited money from your grandfather. Did all of you?”

  “Yes. Our dad makes a living by buying up foreclosed properties and flipping them for a profit or renting them out. He only deals with foreclosed properties. It’s how he made his money, and he made a lot of it. Although, the family didn’t need more money. My mother’s father had been rich and when he passed away, he left all of them a good bit of money. My great-grandparents were oil rich in Texas. My grandparents inherited that land then sold it and moved to Montana because my grandmother always wanted to visit here. Once here, they fell in love with Hartland and bought land then started their family. They had raised Angus beef for years but decided to retire. They sold the ranch, cattle, and started traveling. They both died about four years ago within a month of each other. Each of us inherited a good bit of money. Including our parents. We each bought land and built our homes. Except for Brayden. He bought a house with land, so he could have the sanctuary. The rest of us have land that connects.”