Lucky 7 Bad Boys Contemporary Romance Boxed Set

by Pineiro, Charity

  She blinked. "What are you saying?"

  "Here, Rini. I want to live here, at Rincon. Is your house big enough for all of us?"

  "I'm not—"

  "It doesn't matter, we can get another one. A giant house, with lots of room. For those two dozen kids you promised me."

  Rini slapped a hand over her mouth and gasped, choking on laughter. "Two dozen?"

  "What do you say?"

  "To the two dozen kids, or the house?"

  "Making our home here."

  She smiled, her pretty fire eyes radiating so much love he thought his knees might buckle. "You mean it's my choice?"

  "Yep."

  "Then I choose to be with you, Cole. Wherever you are, for the rest of my life, I choose to be there, too."

  Epilogue

  "You've got to be kidding."

  Hiking her heavy silk wedding gown up off the dirt path, Rini burst out in a gale of laughter at the accommodations Cole was pointing to.

  He looked offended. If he could possibly look anything but wildly sexy in his midnight black tuxedo and starched pleated shirt. "I'm perfectly serious. If it was good enough for my ancestors, it's good enough for me. And you, too, woman."

  She fought a losing battle to look stern. "I know for a fact Luiseños didn't live in tepees, Cole. You told me so yourself."

  When he'd suggested moving back to the rez, this wasn't quite what Rini'd had in mind. Still, she couldn't help but giggle at the miffed expression on his face.

  "Lodges," he corrected. "Besides, it's just for one night."

  "Our wedding night," she reminded him with an exaggerated pout that threatened to dissolve into mirth.

  "Well, what was I supposed to do? Throw your mother and Frazer out on their noses?"

  She chuckled. "You could have made them sleep in the tepee—"

  "Lodge."

  "All right, lodge, and they'd have thanked you for the intense cultural experience. I've never seen anyone charm my mother quite as quickly and thoroughly as you managed to do. It was an amazing thing to behold."

  He flashed her the old pirate smile, wiggling his eyebrows. "Darlin', you think that was amazing, just wait."

  He reached for her and she demurred, ducking away quickly. He put his hands on his hips and with a feral gaze watched her retreat. "And what about Alexa?" he called. "You'd make your pregnant sister sleep in some sleazy motel?"

  She stopped in her tracks, aghast at what he was suggesting. "Of course not!" A smile spread over her whole being when she thought about Brad's announcement at the reception that evening. Alexa was finally carrying the baby she so longed for, and she'd made it through the first trimester. It was all too perfect.

  Including their primitive honeymoon suite. It brought back wonderful memories of a certain night in May… But of course, she wasn't going to let Cole know that. Just yet.

  "That would be beastly of us. A pregnant woman, and all."

  "All right then. Stop complaining and come here."

  He looked at her hungrily. It was that same look he'd been giving her since she'd walked down the grass aisle in Tanya's backyard earlier, on the arm of his best man, Renegade Santangelo. A look that said he would eat her up in a single bite if she let him come too close.

  He came closer.

  She scampered away. She wanted him tied up in knots by the time they reached his lodge. Judging by the sizzling looks he was sending her, her strategy appeared to be working.

  She flashed him her most flirtatious smile. "Renegade looked particularly handsome today," she remarked.

  Cole grunted, stalking her steadily.

  She sighed provokingly. "Black leather pants and frilly shirt. Very sexy. And that hair…"

  "RaeAnne seemed to like it."

  "They make a nice couple. Speaking of nice couples, who was that hunk Tanya was with? Someone new?"

  "That's it. I won't have my wife talking about every other man at my own wedding."

  "Why, Cole. Are you jealous?"

  "Damn straight!"

  Sucking on a fingertip, she tilted her head coquettishly. "Good. I wouldn't have wanted this expensive silk gown to go to waste."

  "Come here, before I have to come get you." Lifting her skirts scandalously high in the air, she fled. He groaned. "I suppose the stockings are silk, too," he called after her, agony in his voice.

  Pausing in her flight, she rounded a tree and peered at him coyly. "Why, yes, as a matter of fact." Among a few other interesting bits and pieces he'd soon discover.

  The late summer sun had set a while ago, leaving a magical twilight dimness in its wake. The stars overhead were just peeking out of the murky blanket of sky, the sliver of moon a pearly luminescence above the trees.

  Breathing in a lungful of sultry, spice-scented air, she continued to stroll in the direction of the beautifully painted lodge in which they would spend their first night together after renewing their vows and affirming their love.

  Cole sauntered toward her, obviously attempting to look casual in his pursuit.

  She stooped to pick a wildflower, letting him come within a few yards before waltzing off. "Billy and Jeff were having a good time at the reception," she said.

  "Yeah. They get along well. They've been really good for each other."

  "He makes a terrific father," she said thoughtfully, temporarily forgetting about eluding Cole. "And your mother is in heaven."

  "Don't I know it." He stuck his hands in his pockets and inched toward her. "Both mothers. They're turning out to be quite the buddies. Conspiring over who to fix Billy up with." He smirked. "What a pair."

  She giggled. "Well, I think it's cute."

  "You would."

  He lunged, and she squealed in delighted terror when he almost caught her. With a rustle of silk petticoats, she scurried off, skipping and sliding over the uneven ground in her formerly white slippers.

  "You're going to pay for this, woman," he growled, a menacing expression on his face.

  Her blood stirred heavily at the thought of what the price would be. "Why, for what, darling?" She turned and gave him a guileless look.

  His eyes raked over her thoughtfully, systematically, artfully. Thoroughly. A frisson of anticipation shivered down her body. Oh, yes. She was getting nervous now. She took a step backward.

  "You'll pay for making me chase you." He followed. "And for that gorgeous silk gown. And for each and every one of those lacy silk petticoats. But you'll especially pay for the stockings."

  Another step backward. "Oh, dear. I suppose I'll be wickedly punished for the rest, too." She peeked up from under fanned lashes.

  He looked momentarily stricken. "The rest?"

  She nodded solemnly. "You know. The rest."

  He pulled his chin up, unsticking his collar from his neck. His gaze fastened on the décolletage peeking tantalizingly through her gown's sheer upper bodice. "Such as, for instance?"

  "Oh, well, like, um, the other"—she gestured up and down her torso—"lacy, frilly, silky things. Underneath."

  His lids drooped to half-mast and he actually licked his lips. He was hot. She could practically see the smoke rising from his broad, muscular shoulders. Pure electricity shot through her body, starting at the tips of her breasts and streaking directly to the junction of her thighs.

  "Oh, yeah. You'll definitely pay for those." He took another step toward her.

  She was more than tempted to let him punish her right then and there.

  "You bring your war paint, warrior?" she asked, a seductive curve to her lips.

  He grinned lasciviously, pulling a small tube from his tux pocket. "Right here, wife. And I want you to put it on me."

  She whirled on a toe and took off. His arm snaked out, his fingers grazing her wrist. She shrieked and ran for her life.

  He was after her like a shot, his footfalls pounding in the dust right behind her. Five steps and he hauled her in. She screamed in excitement, thrilling to the feel of his strong hands capturing her.


  Throwing his head back, he whooped victoriously, lifting her, sweeping her into his strong arms. There was silk everywhere, petticoats flying, her gown floating and billowing on the breeze as he strode down the path with her flailing and wiggling and laughing.

  He kicked the door flaps open and whisked her into his lodge. Wide-eyed, she gasped at the sight that met her misty gaze, the laughter dying on her lips.

  A huge mattress lay in the middle of the floor, draped luxuriously in white satin linens and pillows. Scattered everywhere were handfuls of sweet smelling gardenia petals. Soft music wafted from somewhere on the other side of the tepee. A low table held a feast of succulent delights—grapes, strawberries, aromatic cheeses, caviar, and a magnum of Kristal champagne. Finally, her awe-filled gaze halted on the biggest flask of her favorite aromatic oil she'd ever seen.

  "Oh, Cole." She sighed his name, turning in his arms, touching his cheek with her fingers. She wound her arms around his neck and gazed adoringly into the eyes of her husband, her soul filled to bursting for this man who had given her so much. His name, a home, her son. His heart.

  The planes and angles of his handsome face softened in the murky light. His lips met hers in a tender promise of a kiss, and he whispered, "You've made me whole, Fire Eyes. Will you stay with me for a lifetime?"

  She melted into his embrace. "I'll never leave you, my love, not for a million lifetimes and more."

  "I love you," they whispered as one. "Forever and ever."

  THE END

  About the Author

  Nina Bruhns

  A graduate of the University of Chicago, Illinois, and Uppsala University, Sweden, Nina Bruhns enjoys a successful career as the bestselling author of over thirty award-winning thrillers, romantic suspense, and sexy contemporary romance novels, She is also a senior editor with Entangled Publishing.

  Nina is a three-time winner of the Daphne du Maurier Award for the Overall Best Mystery-Suspense Novel of the Year. Her books have been named as the RT BookReviews Best Book of the Year in three different categories, as well as garnering three RWA Rita nominations and winning two RWA Golden Heart Awards, among many other accolades.

  Read more about Nina Bruhns and her books on her website:

  www.NinaBruhns.com

  Please "like" Nina Bruhns' Facebook author page!

  Additional Books by Nina Bruhns

  CATCH ME IF YOU CAN

  THE PARIS CAPER

  SLAVE TO LOVE by Nikita Black (aka Nina Bruhns)

  DRIVEN TO DATE

  by Susan Hatler

  Chapter One

  The last decade of my life had built up to this moment. As I stood outside the conference room, I had the strong urge to throw my arms in the air, jump as high as I could, and shout, “Go, me!” But, of course, I refrained. The partners were about to promote me to Managing Attorney of the Personal Injury Department, and doing the bunny hop in the hallway might be construed as poor leadership.

  Jill Parnell, Managing Attorney. Definitely had a nice ring to it. They may as well put my name on the letterhead now, because this promotion would be a virtual guarantee I’d make partner at Corbett, Gray, & Shaw. Roger Gray had assured me of that when he’d interviewed and hired me five years ago.

  Sure, there had been sacrifices to get to this point, and they flashed through my head like a slideshow: Missed parties in college and law school. Saturday nights at the office—too many to count. Aidan’s recent ultimatum that I slow down in my career or else.

  I chose “else.”

  Aidan and I’d had fun over the last eight months, but he knew when we met that I was driven in my career. For him to want me to change—to give up what had made me the independent, self-sufficient twenty-nine-year-old I was today—seemed wrong. Like I’d drop off the partner track because my boyfriend wanted me to go to the movies more often.

  I snorted at the thought. If only my mother would’ve had the good sense to ditch my dad thirty years go, then she wouldn’t have had to work her knuckles to the bone—literally, because she cleaned houses as her second job—funding his big adventures all her life. When I asked her last week, why she never got to go hike in the Andes—Dad was due back from South America today—she merely replied, “Someone has to pay the bills.”

  Exactly why I needed to make partner and secure my future. Aidan didn’t seem to get that, but he’d lasted eight months, which was longer than the rest of my boyfriends. None seemed willing to stand by a career woman. I didn’t cry over him dumping me, but I’d certainly been disappointed. Another casualty. Another sacrifice. But it was about to finally pay off.

  I knocked on the door, and entered to find all three partners seated at the oblong mahogany table. Stan Corbett had taken the head spot, Roger Gray sat to his right, and Jim Shaw was last.

  Stan gestured toward the empty chair next to Jim. “Please have a seat, Jill.”

  “Thank you.” I unbuttoned the jacket of my pantsuit, crossed my legs slowly, and willed myself to appear calm as a million volts of adrenaline shot through me.

  Stan poured himself a cup of coffee, then gestured for me to help myself. “We’ve asked you here today because, as you know, Charles Mansfield gave notice last week.”

  “Yes.” I nodded at Stan, who was actually not my favorite. Unfortunately, he was about to be my direct boss. Stan Corbett was a short, stout, want-to-be ladies man, and the partner who headed up the Personal Injury Department. Not someone I was eager to have lord over me, especially when Charlie had given me free reign (after my first year) to work independently on my cases. I poured myself a cup of coffee—black, no fluffy cream or sugar. “I heard Charlie’s starting his own law firm with Ethan Harrison.”

  The same Ethan, who was getting married at the Geoffries hotel here in downtown Sacramento tomorrow night. I made a mental note to pick up my black evening dress from the drycleaners at lunch. Truth be told, I had a jam-packed day scheduled, so I wished the partners would promote me so I could get on with it.

  Jim Shaw leaned back in his brown leather chair. “Jill, have I ever mentioned my nephew?”

  “Not that I recall.” My brows furrowed as I lifted my mug, took a sip of the hot, bitter liquid, then braced myself for the four crucial words: Congratulations on Managing Partner. Maybe I should act surprised. . . .

  “My nephew’s been heading up a big law firm in San Diego.” Jim cleared his throat, then leaned forward on his elbows. “Lucky for us, he’s decided to move back to his roots here in Sacramento. We’ve just hired him to take over for Charles Mansfield.”

  I choked on my coffee. “W-What did you say?”

  Jim handed me a small, white napkin. “My nephew will be the new Managing Attorney at Corbett, Gray, & Shaw.”

  My face went numb as I dabbed my mouth with the napkin. Had Jim just said they were giving my position to his nephew? I turned to the other two partners, pleading with my eyes that Jim was just exercising a sick sense of humor.

  “Managing Attorney is the number one position in the Personal Injury Department.” Roger Gray gave me a serious look. “But the number two position is vital as well.”

  “Excellent point, Roger.” Stan’s forehead wrinkled as he wiggled in his chair. “The Managing Attorney relies heavily on the number two. Teamwork’s everything.”

  Who gave a flying fig about the number two position? My shoulders tightened as I inwardly seethed over the five years I’d slaved at Corbett, Gray, & Shaw. Days. Nights. And all those weekends. For what? So they could hand my position to some new guy, just because he came from Jim’s gene pool?

  “It’s been a tough decision replacing Charles.” Stan leaned over the desk, his potbelly pressing against the table. “We needed someone who had the proper experience. A leader. Someone who could convince these Sacramento juries to loosen their purse strings.”

  “I see.” I kept my expression blank as I stared at my backstabbing boss. My trial skills were top notch and I always gave one-hundred and fifty percent. It was my tu
rn to move up and Stan knew it. I felt eyes burning into the side of my head and gave a side-glance at Roger Gray. A look passed between us and I understood he wasn’t the one who’d sold me out.

  “Jury verdicts are everything in this business.” Jim smiled in a matter-of-fact way that annoyed me. “That’s what keeps the P.I. Department afloat.”

  My eyes narrowed. Like Jim knew squat about our department. He’d graduated from Podunk Law School, umpteen years ago, and had never gone to trial once. His role in this firm was schmoozing, drumming up new clients, and rubbing elbows with Sac County judges.

  “Even more important than trial skills is settlement negotiation.” I smoothed a non-existent wrinkle from my jacket sleeve, drawing out my statement until I had their full attention. If this nephew wasn’t a sealed deal, I could still land on top. Uncle Jim had said it himself. The bottom line was money. “The best way to conserve expenses is by resolving before trial. I’m sure you know I recently settled the Maxwell case.”

  “The six-figure medical malpractice suit.” Stan nodded. “You and Charles did a fine job on that one.”

  My jaw tightened. Charlie hadn’t touched that case. Sure, his name was on the file as Managing Attorney, but I’d handled that case from the in-take interview to depositing the settlement check. Territorial much? Me? Maybe a little. . . .

  “Yes, it was a terrific settlement.” Jim’s cell beeped and he checked the screen. “We’d better wrap things up since I need to take this. Thank you, everyone.”

  I opened my mouth—

  “I’ve got another meeting as well.” Stan stood, then followed Jim out of the conference room, leaving the door open.

  My chest went hollow, then my gaze shot to Roger. “That’s it?”

  “I’m sorry, Jill.” His expression was grave. “You’re very much appreciated around here and you’ll advance as soon as there’s another opportunity.”

  Yeah, unless Jim’s long lost cousin appeared. “When does Jim’s nephew start?”

  “Monday.” He let out a breath, then rose from his chair. “He’s a decent fellow. I’m sure you’ll get along famously.”