Cowboy Jackpot: Valentine's Day

by Randi Alexander

  "What's wrong?" Dallas stopped next to her.

  "I forgot something. My…pen." She smiled at the security guard. "In the office. It'll just take a second." She walked backward a few steps.

  The guard nodded.

  She looked at Dallas. "I'll be right back." She turned and quick-stepped back the way they'd come. A future? Oh God, what was she doing?

  Chapter Two

  Dallas watched Kira trot down the hallway, her heels clomping, her hair flying. "What the fuck?"

  She hadn't used her own pen. The manager had given them each a souvenir casino pen, his with a cowgirl who stripped, hers with a cowboy who did the same.

  He'd wait for her, let her do whatever she was up to… "Aw fuck." Was she changing her mind? Telling the casino guy she wanted all the money, didn't want to split it with him? He shook his head. She wouldn't do that.

  He shoved his hands in his back pockets and paced. She wouldn't, would she? After their apologies, after wanting a fresh start. "Hell." He fought the urge to go after her, listen to what she was telling the guy, but that wasn't the right thing to do. He pushed open the door into the casino and stepped out, waiting for it to lock him out so he couldn't change his mind and go confront her. Damn, that woman made him pure loco.

  He spotted Jayden leaning against a slot machine chatting up a brunette cocktail waitress. She leaned into him and touched the sleeve of his red Western-cut shirt.

  Jayden had to look up at her from under his cowboy hat. In three-inch heels and fishnet stockings, her legs went on forever. Her costume, fashioned after that of the saloon girls of the old West, was more like a swimsuit with fringe sewn on.

  Jayden gestured to Dallas, took a slip of paper from the waitress, and sauntered over to him. "Hey, rich man. How'd it go?"

  Dallas took a breath. "She's up to something."

  His friend's dark blue gaze slid the door Dallas had come out of. "Where is she?"

  He jerked his head. "Said she forgot something and went back in." Doubt clouded his thoughts. "You think she could be plannin' a double-cross?"

  Jayden's eyes narrowed. "She doesn't seem like the type, but then, money can make people do strange things." His brows lifted. "'Course, you know that."

  His gut clenched at the memory of his last girlfriend, her promises, her lies, her perjury. "I sure as fuck do."

  "What are you gonna do?" Jayden pulled off his cowboy hat and ran his fingers through his curly blond hair.

  What could he do? She held all the power. She'd offered to give him half the money, even told the casino manager that she'd just take half. But now that she'd run back to the man's office… "Hell, I'm gonna have to stick on her like a burr."

  Jayden's mouth quirked. "Sounds like fun."

  It did sound like fun. Naughty, sexy, long hours keeping an eye on her while holding her close to him, under him, in a big, soft bed. He pulled out the keycard. "Kira and I got a suite, so you've got the room to yourself tonight."

  "Aw gee, what'll I do all by myself?" He held up the slip of paper the waitress had given him. "Krissie gets off at six tonight."

  "Watch out, Jay. Tomorrow's Valentine's Day." He slid the card into his pocket. "You don't want to get tangled up in all that mushy shit."

  Jayden frowned. "I like all that mushy shit." He pocketed the number. "You're the one who needs to get mushy if you intend to stick to Kira until tomorrow."

  He hadn't thought of that. What if she wanted to skip the suite, skip him?

  "I guess I'll have to use some cowboy charm to keep her around." It wouldn't be a hardship. He'd wanted her the moment he'd seen her on Christmas Eve.

  Jayden snorted. "Cowboy charm? You?" He shook his head. "You ain't got none of that."

  "Fuck if I don't." True, he wasn't as cute as Jayden, or as funny as Boone, but he had his own way with the ladies. Dark and brooding one of them had called him.

  "Yeah, if staring them down and freezing them with that bear growl of yours is considered charming."

  "Bear growl?" His voice rolled low and hard. Like a bear. "I've got plenty of moves." He glanced at the door, but it remained shut.

  Jayden's eyes showed surprise. "Yeah?" He resettled his hat on his head and stuck his thumbs into his front pockets.

  "Yeah," Dallas growled. Aw hell, he could use all the help he could get with Kira. Most of the women he'd been with over the last ten years were buckle bunnies or one-nighters from bars. What did he know about seducing a classy lady from New York?

  Jayden couldn't keep girls from crawling all over him. What did he know that Dallas didn't?

  "All right, Romeo. Show me your best move." He held up a hand. "But if you tell anyone I asked, you won't be ridin' any rodeos for a while."

  "Righteous strategy, Dallas. Ask for my help then threaten me."

  "Forget it." He turned. "Just fucking forget it." He felt like an idiot asking a twenty-year-old for dating advice.

  Jayden laughed. "Naw, c'mon. This'll be fun." He winked. "And our secret."

  Dallas rolled his eyes. "Great." This was not going to be any variety of fun.

  "Listen. For starters, smile." He curled his lips up and showed his teeth. "This is what it looks like."

  Dallas crossed his arms over his chest. "You're such a little shit, Jayden."

  "I'm serious. Smile. Chicks love it."

  Kira had teased him back in December about his sober face that never loosened up. He looked at his buddy and forced a grin.

  Jayden flinched. "Oh man. You'll need to practice that in a mirror."

  Pursing his lips, he gave his friend a glare. "What else?"

  "Body language." Jayden looked down at where his thumbs rested in his pockets and his hands bracketed his package. "Where does this draw a woman's eye?"

  Dallas snorted a laugh. "Really?" He uncrossed his arms and mirrored Jayden's pose.

  "Good." Jayden shifted and leaned against the side of a slot. "A little hip."

  "What are you, a stripper?"

  "Hip. Loose. Not tight-assed."

  Dallas gave it a try. "I think I dislocated something."

  "Buddy, makin' you into a chick magnet is gonna take a whole lot more time than we have right now."

  The door to the back of the casino opened and Kira walked out. Jayden dropped his hands and moved away a step.

  Kira's gaze shot to Dallas, jerked down to his fly, then back up to meet his eyes with a sexy smile.

  "Told ya," Jayden whispered.

  "Damn," he breathed as he returned Kira's smile with a real one, a result of the excited beat of his heart and the hum of desire rolling low in his gut.

  She strode up to them holding a gold pen in her hand. "Got it." She reached for Jayden. "Hi, Jay. How are you?"

  "A heck of a lot better now that you're here." He leaned in for a half hug.

  Kira squeezed him with a sigh. "I've missed you."

  Dallas's jaw clenched. The kid had better watch his hands.

  "Congrats." Jayden backed away. "Looks like you two will be sharing a nice chunk of change."

  Her eyes dropped for a second before she nodded. "Yes. Hard to believe, isn't it?"

  Worry tightened in Dallas's stomach. She was up to something.

  Jayden had caught her nervousness, too. After a meaningful glance at Dallas, he hitched a thumb over his shoulder. "Boone and Gigi said they'd meet us at the Roundup."

  "Let's go." Kira started walking and the cowboys flanked her. "I could use a drink."

  "Yep. Me, too." Both Kira and Jayden looked at him. He practiced a smile and Kira returned it. He took her hand and she sighed. Yep, sticking close to her was going to be a pleasure.

  They walked into the Roundup Bar and Stormie waved and slid down off her barstool.

  Jayden let out a slow whistle and used one finger to tip his hat back.

  Stormie walked toward them, her long, firm legs looking smooth as her round hips swayed a fascinating rhythm. Dallas hadn't noticed her nicely shaped breasts before, but evidentl
y, Jayden saw them now.

  "Buckle bunny dead ahead," Jayden murmured.

  Kira stiffened.

  "Jay, hold on." Dallas held tighter to her hand in case she let loose on Jayden with an uppercut. "That's Kira's cousin."

  "Really." He drawled the word slowly.

  Stormie's freckled face glowed and her smile showed perfect teeth. Her long, strawberry blonde hair floated behind her. "Jayden Hancock." She stopped in front of him and held out her hand. "I'm so excited to meet you."

  Jayden moved a little closer as he took her hand. "You can bet I'm just as excited to meet you." His grin could have turned a nun naughty.

  "Wow." Stormie breathed the word as her green eyes took in Jayden's face.

  Kira elbowed Dallas. "Wow is right. What are we witnessing here?"

  Whatever it was, it looked like something they shouldn't be watching. "Let's get a table." Dallas put his hand on Kira's back and guided her to the big round booth they'd shared with Boone, Gigi, and Jayden at Christmas.

  Kira slid in while keeping an eye on Jayden and Stormie, who seemed to be deep in conversation.

  Dallas sat next to Kira. "Don't worry about Jay. He looks dodgy, but he's virtually harmless."

  "I'm not worried about him. I'm worried about Stormie." She wrinkled her brow. "I've never seen her like that around a guy before."

  Dallas didn't see anything wrong with Stormie's behavior. At the roulette table, she'd been energetic and charming. The same as she was now with Jayden. "She's a rodeo fan?"

  "Uh huh." Kira tapped her finger on the table. "I'd mentioned all your names last night, but she didn't seem to be a fanatic. Just a fan."

  Stormie and Jayden stood close together, talking like they were old friends.

  Dallas watched them for a minute. "She hasn't tackled him and ripped off his clothes yet, so I think they'll be okay without direct supervision."

  Kira relaxed back onto the padded seat. "You're right. They're adults."

  He lifted a brow. Dallas sure didn't see Jayden as an adult, yet. The kid was only twenty, but he had a fake ID. Hell, Dallas was eight years older, and he barely felt like an adult, himself.

  Boone and Gigi walked into the bar. Boone resembled his little brother, Jayden, but with straight, shaggy blond hair and lighter blue eyes. His wiry bull rider's body was decked out in cowboy boots, jeans with a big championship belt buckle, and a black T-shirt.

  Gigi, shorter and very curvy, wore a red sundress and white sandals. Her long, black hair looked mussed, as if Boone had kissed her very recently. Like in the elevator on the way down to the casino.

  Dallas envied his friend's perfect life with the woman who made him so damn happy.

  Jayden introduced Stormie to Boone. Gigi already knew her. They all wandered over to the booth.

  "Congratulations." Boone shook Dallas's hand as Gigi slid in next to Kira. "What've you got planned for the money?" Boone eased into the back of the booth next to Gigi.

  Stormie piled in by Boone, and Jayden took the end seat next to her, sitting a little closer than the spacious booth required.

  Dallas grinned. "I'm thinkin' about investing it in a rodeo school somewhere north of here."

  For years, Dallas, Boone, and Jayden had been planning to convert the Reno farm Boone inherited, into a rodeo school for bull and bronc riders.

  Boone nodded. "I know just the place." He'd already invested his half of the jackpot he'd split with Gigi into updating the barn into a regulation size arena.

  Gigi leaned her shoulder into Boone's. "We'll all be partners." Gigi had thrown in her winnings, too, and was currently a half-partner in the venture. "How much was your win? Stormie said almost two hundred thousand?"

  Dallas slung his arm across the back of the booth and touched Kira's shoulder. "Half of that." He narrowed his gaze on her, watching for signs of dishonesty. "Right?"

  ****

  Kira started at Dallas's touch. It seemed sweetly possessive for a man who wasn't usually demonstrative. Glancing around the table, she caught inquisitive glances from Stormie and Jayden, and surprised looks on Gigi and Boone's faces.

  "Yes, half. We're splitting the jackpot." Of course, that wasn't the truth, so she avoided Dallas's gaze.

  All four of them started talking at once and she leaned closer to Dallas.

  He held up a hand. "It was only fair. My money, her luck."

  Kira smiled up at him. "Stupid luck."

  Gigi settled in. "Tell us the whole story."

  Kira and Dallas relayed the scene with a few comments from Stormie.

  Their drinks arrived; three giant margaritas, three tap beers in big cowboy boot-shaped glasses, and three shots of whiskey.

  The men held up their shot glasses and Jayden toasted. "To luck, stupid or otherwise."

  They downed them and Kira slid her oversized glass toward the middle of the table. "Another toast. To Gigi and Boone, lucky in love, and the reason we're all here."

  The two other women slid their glasses until all three clinked, then the men tapped their boot glasses against them. The logistics of the giant cocktails had them all laughing and Gigi asked the waitress to take a couple pictures with her phone.

  Stormie crossed her arms on the table and looked at Gigi. "Tell me the story of how you two met."

  The loving look that passed between Gigi and Boone set Kira's heart chugging.

  Dallas's hand tightened on Kira's shoulder and she looked into his dark eyes. His lips curved up just slightly and he inhaled a long breath.

  The chugging in her heart increased. She wanted this man. Wanted to peel off every stitch of clothing, run her hands over the light furring on his chest, his belly, his strong thighs. She wanted to taste him, from his neck to his nipples, down his belly to his cock. To pull the hot, pulsing head into her mouth and experience the satiny texture of his tight skin, lave a salty drop of his pre-come on the tip of her tongue.

  "Damn, Kira. Don't look at me like that if you don't want me to haul you over my shoulder and carry you up to our suite." His voice rumbled, quiet and sensual.

  Her nipples perked as a shimmy of desire raced to her core. Placing her hand on his thigh, she grasped the hard muscle, let his heat warm her palm. "Is that a threat…or a promise."

  He growled low in his chest.

  "…anyway…" Gigi said sharply.

  Kira and Dallas looked at her.

  Gigi gave them the stink eye. "If you two are done over there, I'll finish my story."

  Dallas pulled Kira closer. "We're not anywhere near done, but we'll take a break."

  Kira felt heat rush to her cheeks but she grinned. "We're listening."

  Boone laughed and Jayden snorted. Stormie stared at her as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

  True, Kira had said some disparaging things to Stormie about Dallas, and her cousin had witnessed the verbal punches she and Dallas had thrown at the roulette table. But there had always been a flame burning between her and the cowboy. Kira looked at him. He was watching her. As soon as they reached their suite, that flame would become an inferno, and she welcomed the burn.

  Gigi cleared her throat and spoke to Stormie. "So, together, Boone and I won the slot's progressive. Except he…" She gave Boone a loving look. "Didn't want to take half because he's such a gentleman."

  Boone gave her a quick kiss. "I still don't know how she talked me into it."

  Gigi wagged her brows. "I have ways of making you do what I want."

  "Damn fine ways, too." His voice grew low and his arm slid across her shoulders.

  Both Kira and Stormie sighed, looked at each other, then laughed.

  "Chicks." Jayden made a disgusted face.

  "Get used to it, brother." Boone's gaze didn't stray from Gigi. "And learn to love it."

  Gigi made a little mewing sound and touched Boone's cheek.

  "So, it was perfect from then on?" Stormie's eyes were wide. "You got engaged so fast."

  Boone shook his head. "No, not perfect. I
screwed up real bad."

  "My fault." Dallas's lips tightened into a thin line.

  Dallas had sent some texts to Boone that Gigi intercepted. She gave up on Boone, gave up on love, but Boone had found a way to make it right. Thank God.

  "No." Boone looked at his friend. "My fault.”

  "It's all in the past." Gigi waved her hand as if to erase it all. "Then, Boone took me home to his parents' ranch, he showed me the land and the house he'd inherited from his grandfather." She shrugged and smiled, her eyes bright with a sheen of moisture. "I spent a couple weeks there with him, just the two of us in that big old house. I knew that was where I wanted to be." She turned to her fiancé. "Forever."

  "Forever." Boone lifted her left hand and kissed her finger where the engagement ring's big diamond twinkled brightly.

  "Awww." Stormie looked a little weepy, too, and Kira felt a lump of emotion in her own throat.

  "Tell her how you got engaged." Laughter filled Jayden's voice.

  Chapter Three

  "Oh my gosh." Kira covered her mouth with her hand to hold in the sappy sigh. "It was so romantic."

  Across the booth from her and Dallas, Jayden and Stormie looked at her, smiling, but snuggled together in the back of the booth, Gigi and Boone only had grins for each other.

  Dallas ran his hand up and down Kira's bare arm and goosebumps rose.

  Gigi set her hand on Boone's chest. "It was romantic. A month after we met in Vegas, I flew to Maine to be with him at a rodeo. After he took first place…" Her pride showed on her face. "The band started, and he took me out on the packed dirt for a dance. I'd heard the song before, but the band was throwing in all these references to how Boone and I met. I froze."

  Boone laughed. "Thought she was gonna faint." He told Stormie, "I know the guys in the band, and I asked the lead singer to tweak the song for me."

  "That's so frickin' romantic." Stormie had finished over half her margarita already.

  Kira should take her to the ladies' room and tell her to slow down. Kira's aunt and uncle, Stormie's parents, would kill Kira if she let her cousin get too wild. Kira was only two years older than Stormie's twenty-two, but her cousin had grown up on a ranch, attended the local agricultural college while living at home, and hadn't had the life experiences Kira had.