Untouched

by Maisey Yates

  “He’s using you,” Cade said.

  “What? For sex? Because I do know that. I know I’m not going to marry the guy, and if you dare get pissed at me about that, I will cry bullshit, because you aren’t a virgin and you aren’t married.”

  “He’s using you to get . . . to get back at me.”

  “How? How does him sleeping with me affect you?”

  “I would always be pissed at the guy who was sleeping with you, but this . . . Do you not see how damned affected I am, Lark Mitchell? I can’t believe that . . . animal somehow convinced you to let him put his hands all over you, when he just about killed me . . . how do you not see it?”

  Her heart was hammering hard, the beat echoing in her head. “I don’t think he did it, Cade,” she said, her voice choking out partway through the sentence.

  “What?”

  “Have you ever thought, for a second, that you could be wrong?” she asked.

  “No. Lark, I haven’t. No other guy on the circuit would have done it. I’m friends with them. This is why I can’t believe it. He is an antisocial jackass. He doesn’t have any friends. He’s got a crew, but they don’t mix with us. I couldn’t pick any of them out of a lineup. The only time Parker ever went out in a group with us, he ended up bar brawling.”

  “And the other guys weren’t involved?”

  “What does that have to do with anything?”

  “Who threw the first punch?”

  Cade shrugged. “He was at the center of it. That’s all that matters.”

  “No, that’s not all that matters. What do the other cowboys say to him? How do other people treat him? You don’t have any evidence, Cade. You never did. No one did. It’s all just about not liking him, and I can’t get behind that.”

  Cade shook his head, his expression dark. “Lark, some people just cause trouble wherever they go. It’s like he’s . . .”

  “Bad blood?” she asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “I’ve called you an asshole a lot of times, Cade, but I’ve never really meant it. But now I do. You are an asshole. You aren’t even willing to think, for a second, that he didn’t do this to you, and you’re willing to let him lose his whole life over it. Because you just don’t like him? That’s BS. High school garbage. And you’re better than that. You want me to grow up? You first.”

  She turned away from him and stomped up to her room, flinging the door open and grabbing her Rainbow Brite duffel bag from the back of her closet, flinging her clothes into it. She didn’t have anything sexy, or she might have paid closer attention to her things.

  “Actually . . .” She turned her computer on. Oh, her computer. She would miss it. Actually, weirdly, she hadn’t missed her clan as much as she’d thought she would. How long had it been since she’d checked her email? Two days?

  Why didn’t she care that much?

  Maybe because life had suddenly gotten more interesting. Maybe because she had Quinn.

  She logged in to the computer and grabbed her phone out of her purse, doing a quick search for her early correspondence about Longhorn and pulling up the email that had his address.

  One lingerie website and a mortal wound to her bank account balance later, she had some sexy winging its way to Longhorn Ranch of Silver Creek, care of Quinn Parker. Rush delivery.

  Because they didn’t have all that much time.

  She swallowed the lump in her throat and went back to packing. Then she zipped her bag up and slung it over her shoulder, and nearly ran into her sister-in-law.

  “What’s up, babycakes?” Kelsey asked.

  “Kelsey, you just about scared a year off my life.”

  “And you’re actively scaring years off mine. What’s going on?”

  “I’m staying at Longhorn for a while.” She lifted her chin, feeling all defiant.

  “This is the guy who hurt Cade, Lark. The reason he can’t walk right. The reason he can’t ride . . . That’s not like you. This isn’t like you.”

  “He didn’t. Kelsey, he wouldn’t.”

  “Some guys are really good at making up stories, honey. Trust me, I was with one for a long time. A guy who would try to play off me catching him in bed with another woman as ‘not what it looks like.’”

  “But that’s not Quinn. He’s been really honest with me. He has. He told me what our relationship was. It’s physical, and that’s all. And I get that me having a purely sexual relationship makes Cole and Cade want to burn out the portion of their memory that holds that information with a branding iron, but I wouldn’t have told them.” She looked down at her duffel bag and examined Rainbow Brite’s hair with an unnecessary attention to detail. “But he also told me, from day one, that he didn’t sabotage Cade’s ride, and I believe him. And what if that’s true, Kels? What if he didn’t? And Cade is just being angry and he’s directing it at the wrong person. Including him in all this for no reason.”

  “But . . . He’s so convinced . . .”

  “Yeah, and I was too. Until I got to know Quinn.”

  “Okay, so for a second here, I’m going to let the Cade thing go and just . . . I have a sister thing to do. Because Cole and Cade won’t. Are you using condoms?”

  Lark’s face burned. “Yes. Gosh.”

  “He’s not doing anything to hurt you?”

  “No!”

  “Not asking you to do things you don’t like?”

  “No. I’m getting everything I want out of the relationship.” Lies. “And I mean, yeah, I like the guy, but he’s not going to break my heart or anything.”

  “The first guy is a hard guy to get over, Lark. And my first was a lame teenage guy who probably thought a clitoris was a type of salamander.”

  Lark let out a harsh breath. “Yes, and Quinn is a multi-orgasmic god of bedroom gymnastics. I get that. I get that it will be hard to give up.”

  “Well, yeah. That’s why I married your brother. I found a good thing and kept it.”

  Lark scrunched her eyes closed and frowned. “TMI.”

  “You deserve it for what you put Cole through today, and I’m not finished. When it’s that good, it makes you feel a lot of things. You’re going to feel a connection with him; it’s only natural. And I’m just afraid you’re going to get hurt.”

  “Well . . . yeah, maybe I will, but I’ll get over it, right? It’s . . . everyone has to go through a crazy and turbulent love affair at some point.”

  “I guess, but most of us don’t go into it knowing they’ll fail.”

  “Really, Kelsey? Don’t TMI me, but you knew you were going to marry Cole the first time you—”

  “Oh, hell no. I just wanted his body.”

  “See?”

  “But Lark, I did marry him. And it is what I wanted eventually. And when I thought things weren’t going to work out, it devastated me.”

  “Well, the difference is that you love Cole, and I don’t . . . love Quinn.” She blinked against the strange feeling in her chest, the one that made her feel like what she’d just said was a lie.

  “I didn’t love him at first; I fell into it. Without my own permission. Thanks in part to the sex. I’m just worried about you, that’s all.”

  “I’m not going to confuse orgasms with love. I promise. We’re not in a complicated situation like you and Cole.”

  “Really? Really, Lark? Because I think your brother punched your boyfriend in the face today because he believed he’s partly responsible for his life-altering injury. Is that not complicated?”

  She sighed. “Fine. It’s complicated. Right now though, I’m picking Quinn.” She picked her bag up from the bed. “It’s been two days since I checked my email. I haven’t gamed in a week. I rode a horse. I . . . I feel like me, but better. And it’s because of him. I want that for as long as I can have it.”

  “I understand,” Kelsey said, l
ooking down at her hands, twisting her wedding ring in a circle. “I really do. But please be careful. And keep using condoms.”

  “Thanks, Kels.” She gave her sister-in-law a hug and walked out of her bedroom, down the stairs, saying a prayer of thanks that Cade wasn’t out there still.

  Then she got in her car and headed back to Quinn’s. And when she got there, she didn’t feel like she had to knock.

  ***

  “The boys are coming today.”

  Lark opened one eye and found herself staring at a denim-clad thigh. Then she looked up and saw Quinn standing there, arms folded over his chest, looking down at where she was still curled up in his bed.

  “Oh.” She scrambled into a sitting position and pushed her hair off of her face. “What time is it?”

  “Ten.”

  “Ten? FFS, Parker, I should have been working an hour ago!” She slid out of bed, holding the sheet up over her boobs as she started digging through her duffel bag for clothes.

  “I kept you up late.”

  “Doesn’t matter, I have a job here, and I need to make sure everything is running perfectly for your snot-nosed hoodlums when they get here.”

  “Be nice.”

  She looked up at him and quirked a brow. “Did you just tell me to be nice?”

  “Yeah. They’re just hoodlums. They’re old enough to wipe their own noses. And they’ll really be learning that here. That they have to wipe their noses, make their beds, and work for their food. Life blows, and no one’s entitled to bypass labor via laziness and crime.”

  “Well, I have to double check that your vile, soon-to-be-self-sufficient hoodlums can’t search for kinky crap on the web.”

  “I thought you had that done.”

  “Just a precaution. I’m even more acquainted than you are with what men will do for a flash of boob.”

  “Entire countries have fallen for the pursuit of boob flashes.”

  “And boob flashing happens a lot for Mardi Gras beads. Does that mean they’re all powerful?”

  “The key to world peace or total destruction.”

  “Note to self: Buy Mardi Gras beads. Take over the world. Bypass Quinn’s hard work edict.”

  “You’re going to be a bad influence, aren’t you?”

  She dropped the sheet and shook her shoulders. “Maybe. Eeek!” She found herself flat on her back on the bed with Quinn on top of her, his eyes hungry.

  “Distracting woman,” he said, raising his hand and cupping her breast, his thumb sliding over her nipple.

  “It proves my point though,” she said, breathless, wanting him again.

  “Does it?”

  “They’re getting me out of work.”

  “I didn’t realize you were going to use your breasts. I thought you were going to use Mardi Gras beads and the breasts of other women.”

  “Whatever works.”

  He rolled to the side. “I really do have to go tie up all the last-minute details. And I need to also not be having sex when social workers and the like roll in.”

  “Fine, fine.” She got up and turned back toward her bag, and Quinn slapped her rear with a resounding smack. “Hey!”

  “You liked it.”

  She smiled. “Yeah, I did.” She rummaged around, finding a pair of Dalek undies that read EXTERMINATE. She laughed as she tugged them on and turned to face Quinn again.

  His eyes widened. “Is that a threat?”

  She swayed her hips from side to side. “I dunno. Want to take your chances?”

  “You’re wicked this morning, Mitchell.”

  “And you’re a pansy-ass this morning, Parker. Afraid of my panties.”

  “Your panties are threatening my bits.”

  “Nothing bitty down there,” she said, tugging her jeans on. “Not even a little.”

  “You flatter me.”

  “Not flattery. The truth.”

  She put her bra on and earned a cranky grunt from Quinn, then pulled her t-shirt over her head and earned a glare. “You were the one who said you couldn’t be caught with your pants down when social services showed up, Quinn.”

  “I did, didn’t I?”

  “Regretting it.”

  “Hell. Yes.”

  “Eat your heart out, baby.”

  “Or I could just eat out—”

  “Quinn!”

  “Breakfast. We could eat breakfast out.”

  “What about the social workers?”

  “We’ve got a couple hours.”

  She crossed her arms. “And you’re choosing an outing over sex?”

  “A date, Lark. Because you’re right. I’ve taken you on a table, but not a date. And that needs to change.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Quinn felt like the fox escorting a hen to prom. And that’s pretty much how everyone in the diner looked at him when he walked in with Lark’s fingers laced through his.

  It was hard to say what had possessed him to ask her for a date. Except that he didn’t want to be the guy who just slept with her and kept her hidden. He wanted casual—hell, he needed it—but he didn’t want it to seem so much like he was just using her for sex.

  Because that’s what his original plan had been. To seduce her to get revenge, to drive a wedge between her and Cade. And then he’d changed his mind, but it had all turned out just as bad. So he wanted it to seem less like that, to feel less like that.

  Pancakes to salve his conscience. Though he suspected it would take more than that.

  “Table for two,” Lark said. She smiled shyly at the hostess, all proud to be with him, like he was worthy of her pride.

  He wasn’t.

  And the citizens of Silver Creek seemed to know it. Sure, they didn’t know he had issues with her brother. But they saw young, beautiful, innocent, Lark Mitchell with the kind of guy every good girl’s mama had warned them about. A rough, older cowboy who had no business being with such a nice girl.

  The thing was, Lark hadn’t had a mama long enough to take the warning, and everyone in here knew that too. Which was probably why they were watching so close. Ready to step in if need be.

  Small towns were certainly more curse than blessing half the time.

  The hostess raised an eyebrow. “Right this way.”

  All eyes, from the counter to the little tables by the window, followed them back through the restaurant. Thankfully, they got a seat in the back, away from the überlocals who were earning nods and waves from Lark as they passed.

  The hostess handed them their menus and sat them in a booth with red vinyl seats.

  “Your server will be with you in a moment,” she said, giving him the steely eye as she walked back toward the front of the house.

  “Is it just me, or is everyone eyeballing me?” he asked.

  “Curiosity. Much like to Cole and Cade, I’m a child to all these people.”

  “I’m not from a small town, but I’m from an insular social group, so I get how all that works on one level. Still, some of these men look like they might try to hurt me.”

  “They won’t. They might call Cole and tell him his baby sister was out with some no-good, dusty cowboy, but they won’t personally do anything. Unless Cole asks them to.”

  “Cole is a pillar of the community, huh?”

  “More or less.”

  “Hey, Lark.” The waitress that had approached the table was looking at Lark with disapproving blue eyes.

  “Amber. I didn’t think you did breakfast.”

  “I don’t usually. I’m picking up extra shifts.”

  “Oh . . . So . . . Have you . . .”

  “Talked to Cade recently?” She looked pointedly at Quinn, and he nearly shrank beneath that laser-sharp gaze. Amber was a tough girl, that much was obvious. “Yeah. A couple days ago.”

&nb
sp; “I’d like the two-egg breakfast with sausage instead of judgment on the side,” Lark said, handing Amber her menu.

  “I’ll have the same,” Quinn said. “But can you substitute the non-judgmental sausage for bacon?”

  “Coffee with that?”

  “Are you going to spit in it?” Quinn asked.

  “I don’t make promises I can’t keep.”

  “Coffee,” Lark said, her expression defiant now. “We want coffee.”

  Amber turned and headed back toward the kitchen, and Quinn considered praying over his food for the first time in years.

  “What’s her deal?” he asked. “Besides everyone’s general over-protective deal.”

  “Amber is Cade’s best friend. She’s bound to be unhappy with me.”

  “I see. Yeah, I think ‘unhappy’ is an understatement.”

  “Fine for her. She can judge me. I judge her and Cade, who are so dependent on each other—platonically, mind you—that they can’t have functional adult relationships with anyone else. Yeah, I can recognize that. Which means it’s a bit screwed up.”

  “It makes sense, then. That she’s looking at me like she wants to cut me.”

  “I’m sure Cade told an unflattering story. And I fought with him when I went to the house to get my stuff. He makes me so mad!”

  “We can talk about other things. Talking about Cade makes my face hurt.”

  “Okay, so let’s talk about other things then.”

  “Your move. I’m not good at this dating thing.”

  “Liar,” she said, her cheeks coloring. “I’m sure you’re really good at it.”

  “Because I’m good in bed?”

  She turned a deeper rose, and he had to fight to keep himself from leaning over and kissing her where her blush stained her face. “Yeah.”

  “That’s just sex. That’s not dating. I’m not all that experienced with dating.”

  “Then why are we on one now?” she asked.

  “Because. It doesn’t feel right to keep you in bed all the time. Because you deserve to go out. To have something from me other than just what happens in bed. Even if that something is just sausage.”