Lucky Devil

by Patricia Rosemoor

  Part of her was definitely afraid.

  But part of her was willing to be tempted, not just by the physical attraction that sizzled between them alone, but additionally by the part of Lucky that she figured few people knew about. He’d gotten to her on a level that went beyond basic instinct.

  He’d touched her heart.

  No wonder she couldn’t move when he leaned closer, his mouth softly catching hers. She was hardly breathing when he drew back a few inches, one side of his face dark, the other licked by the red glow of the fire.

  She touched his jaw, his cheekbone, his brow. Just as she’d been wanting to do for days. Her fingers explored the scar that would soon fade. With each new touch, his breathing grew more audible. She smiled. The half-light softened his features, made them welcoming rather than harsh. After what she’d been through earlier, she needed welcoming. She needed more.

  Assurance. Comfort.

  His touch. His mouth on hers.

  She thought she might go out of her mind if he didn’t kiss her again.

  “What are we doing?” she asked through a growing haze of longing.

  “Anything you want.”

  When she sighed in answer, he slid a hand along her jawline and behind her ear, his fingers splaying across the back of her neck, then cradling her head before he kissed her, this time more deeply. She didn’t resist his using the leverage to bring her with him when he reclined on the blanket. Didn’t resist when he hooked a hand at the small of her back and pressed until she edged over, landing softly and half on top of him. One of her knees fell between his, and the pulsing hardness along her thigh told her what he wanted of her.

  Truthful with herself, JoJo admitted she wanted Lucky, too. They’d been leading up to this intimate confrontation since the first night, when he’d caught her in the hallway. For days now, they’d been playing a mating dance. Taunting each other. Sizing up one another. Trying to deny the inevitable, each for his or her own reason.

  But JoJo didn’t deny Lucky when he slipped a hand beneath the chambray shirt and ran it slowly over her naked buttocks and up along her spine. She held her breath as he explored her waist, then the fullness of her breast. Their mutual sounds of satisfaction filled the primitive cave, competed with the sudden crackle of a spitting log.

  His kiss deepened, tongue probing, as the rough pads of his fingers ventured along the inside swell of her breast. Her nipples tightened even before he claimed one. He thumbed, circled, tugged at the sensitive flesh, until she began moving restlessly, her hips tilting, her thighs spreading around his jean-clad leg.

  “Wait!” she gasped softly, pulling away long enough to unbuckle his belt, her fingers tracing the engraved bull and rider.

  Lucky watched her through slitted eyes, seemingly content to let her do what she would with him for the moment. Self-conscious, JoJo was glad she was wearing his shirt, and yet she felt more sensual, more alluring than if she were completely undressed. She unzipped his jeans, peeled them and his briefs from his waist. He raised his hips. She pulled the garments farther. Then he was kicking them off, drawing her forward, spreading her thighs around his hips.

  His hand slid under the shirt, finding her woman’s center. His fingers glided easily over the slick flesh, the folds already opened for his touch. Eyes fluttering, she let her head hang back and breathed slow and deep, her inner rhythm set by his fingers.

  But inevitably, JoJo wanted more. Pressure building inside, she leaned forward, her hand smoothing the flesh of his thigh, tracing a small surgical scar over his hip. Undoubtedly, new surgery, the reason he limped at times. Then she forgot about unpleasant things. She found and stroked him. Lucky gasped, stilled for a moment, then wrapped both hands around her hips and drew her up and over him.

  She slid home with a sigh.

  And with a groan, Lucky clutched her to him as if he’d never let go, then rolled, landing her on her back beneath him. A happy laugh escaped JoJo as he lay quietly on top of her, his mouth exploring from her breast to her shoulder to the tender spot beneath her ear. Somewhere along the way, the laugh caught in her throat as the sensuality of his actions seized her. With each new contact, JoJo flowered inside, opening up to Lucky, taking him deeper.

  Breathing as choppily as if he’d run a fast mile, he nuzzled his face in her hair. “I didn’t expect this,” he whispered, his teeth tugging at her ear. “I didn’t expect that I’d let you get to me like this.”

  For an instant, JoJo’s heart skipped a beat as his words registered. She wasn’t certain how to take them. It sounded as if he still thought her an emissary of his father.

  But it was too late for doubts to prevent the inevitable, for as Lucky began to move inside her, JoJo’s body overrode her mind. She couldn’t stop him. Couldn’t stop herself. Her need was stronger than her misgivings. Passion caught her in a tight embrace and wouldn’t relent.

  She rocked her hips, arched her back, rode her legs up along his. She fairly sang with the pleasure that increased and multiplied until she could stand it no more. She dug her nails into his shoulders, his name a throaty moan on her lips. And as if that simple cry were the greatest aphrodisiac, Lucky buried his answer in her hair as his body began to shudder.

  JoJo shuddered with him, her fall from the zenith perhaps quicker than his, the memory of his whispered words once again intruding.

  BY THE TIME the rain let up and they were on their way back to the ranch, JoJo had convinced herself that she’d been too sensitive about Lucky’s impassioned declaration during their lovemaking. He’d merely been expressing his amazement that he wanted her after all the emotional warfare between them. She was feeling the same surprise.

  Surprise and doubt.

  Rather than dwell on whether or not she’d made a mistake by landing in Lucky’s arms, however, JoJo chose to think of their tryst as inevitable, though not necessarily an indication of what the future might hold for them. Undoubtedly, she’d be heading back to Las Vegas in a matter of days, while Lucky probably never wanted to set foot in that town again. Who knew where he would be in a month. Back on the rodeo circuit? Or maybe on some oil rig in Texas.

  Behind Lucky on Silverado, JoJo laid her cheek against his back. She didn’t want to think about the situation too closely. If she’d thought about it to begin with, she might have kept her distance. The circumstances had caused her to lose her head. Coming so close to death had instigated her following her instincts rather than her logic.

  And from the way Lucky kept his own counsel on the ride back to the ranch, JoJo suspected he was having the same doubts.

  And so she was relieved when they arrived, stopping near the pasture. Lucky helped her down, then dismounted himself, dropping Silverado’s reins on the ground despite the muck. The Appaloosa stood stock-still as he had in the rain.

  Vincent appeared from a nearby outbuilding, a large shed that held the saddles and bridles. “Figured you’d be along any time, now that the weather broke.”

  Lucky pushed his hat back. “Have you seen the mare?”

  “She pranced in here ’bout a quarter of an hour ago,” the wrangler said, giving JoJo a sideways look.

  “Spitfire’s all right?” she asked.

  “Right as rain.” Vincent guffawed at his own joke. “She’s in the pasture with the others. I was just checking over her tack—she tore her reins up to get free.”

  JoJo started. “She ripped through the leather?”

  “She’s some strong little mare.”

  Could it be? Had Spitfire gotten loose by herself rather than by another human hand?

  “Where’d you leave the reins?” Lucky asked.

  Vincent leaned through the doorway of the shed and pointed. “Right there.”

  “Take care of my horse, would you?”

  Without a word to her, Lucky disappeared inside, and Vincent loosened the cinches on Silverado’s saddle. Standing in the doorway, while Lucky took a careful look at the leather reins, JoJo remembered the bit of leather she
’d spotted under the hitching post in Rimrock. She also felt a little weird. Lucky hadn’t said anything of significance to her since leaving the cave.

  The same applied when he left the shed a moment later and he seemed too preoccupied to even notice her.

  “Well?” she demanded, forcing his attention her way. “What did you see?”

  All he said was “Old leather ripped up good.”

  “Told ya,” Vincent said as he lugged the saddle into the shed.

  Lucky headed for the house. JoJo tracked after him, resentment growing. She practically had to jog to keep up with his long-legged stride.

  Why couldn’t he say something, anything, to put her at ease?

  “We thought you’d both drowned,” Caroline said the moment they walked through the front door.

  JoJo couldn’t help herself. “Disappointed?”

  She stared at the other woman, watching for just a flicker of guilt, but unfortunately, she spotted no particular emotion to arouse suspicion. Maybe no guilt was to be had—not from anyone. Maybe she’d imagined the muddy tracks had been made by two horses rather than one.

  “I was about to round up a posse and go after the two of you myself,” Eli pronounced.

  Other than Vincent, all the current residents of the ranch were present—Adair, Paula, Rocky and Flora in addition to Caroline and Eli. Every one of them seemed truly concerned and glad to see her unharmed, JoJo realized, but she couldn’t help but suspect one of them was a poker-faced liar.

  “What happened?” Paula asked JoJo breathlessly.

  Lucky beat JoJo to it. “Spitfire pulled free from the hitching post back in Rimrock. JoJo had to walk back. She was crossing the wash when I found her.”

  JoJo wondered why he gave them such a carefully edited version of what had really happened…why he’d minimized the danger she’d been in.

  Expression peculiar, Adair said, “You were gone an awful long time.”

  “We took shelter in a cave,” JoJo said. “Lucky built a fire. That’s where we dried off.”

  She was relieved that Lucky didn’t elaborate on this part of the story.

  “I had a feeling I should’ve gone with you,” Rocky muttered. “None of this would ever have happened.”

  “I guess I should have listened to you,” JoJo said agreeably.

  Even though she knew that Rocky would have held her up, that they would have gotten caught in the downpour before getting back to Rimrock. But at least she would have made it back on her own horse rather than parked behind Lucky.

  He’d already given her reason to have mixed feelings on that score.

  “As it was,” Paula told her, “Rocky and I were caught in the downpour. Lucky and Adair rode so far ahead, they just disappeared from view. We got lost, so we circled around in the rain for a while, trying to find our way home.” She sighed. “Not that I minded, really. It was an adventure. Not as exciting as yours, of course, but we did have a few mishaps of our own.”

  “I made a big pot of chili for lunch,” Flora told JoJo before Paula could elaborate further. “Perhaps you would like some to warm you inside.”

  “I’m warm enough, but thanks,” JoJo told the housekeeper. “Maybe I’ll have some later for dinner.” Though her stomach was feeling a little hollow now, she didn’t think she could choke the food down. Not until she had some time to breathe without so many sets of eyes on her. “I can heat it up myself when I’m ready to eat.”

  “Then if you don’t need me, I will go,” Flora announced.

  “Sure. It’s fine with me.”

  The housekeeper nodded and made for the back door.

  “We were thinking about going into Sedona for dinner,” Paula said with her usual enthusiasm. Her long nails threaded through her hair and hooked it behind her ear. “There are a couple of really neat places in town. We thought we’d go Mexican tonight. Giant margaritas and all. Don’t worry, we’ll wait for you to get cleaned up and everything—”

  JoJo cut her off. “I’d rather just hang out here.”

  “I’ll stay, too,” Adair volunteered.

  Uncomfortable with his seeming concern, JoJo forced a smile. “Go, please. No problem.”

  “I don’t consider keeping you company a problem.”

  Tensely, she insisted, “I could use a little time alone.”

  As Adair looked from her to Lucky, his eyebrows raised. “Uh-huh.”

  “Don’t patronize me!” JoJo said, voice rising. “Just go!” Heat rose along her neck.

  Paula shot to her feet and announced, “I’m absolutely starving. If you guys don’t get me into town and fast, I’m going to swoon from hunger.”

  “That trip to the past affected your speech,” Adair said, laughing. “Swoon?”

  “Let’s go,” Caroline agreed, moving closer to the blond man. She glanced over at Lucky. “Surely you’ll come.”

  “I’ll take a pass this time. Eli and I have some work to do.”

  “Tonight?”

  “I’ve been gone all day.”

  “I’m sure it could wait till tomorrow,” Caroline insisted.

  “I suppose…if I wanted it to.”

  Caroline gave Lucky a sour expression that she turned on JoJo before leaving in Adair’s reluctant wake. But if his sister had any ideas that Lucky wanted to be alone with her, JoJo thought, Caroline was sadly mistaken.

  Lucky seemed restless, itchy. He rambled around the room, refusing to look directly at her.

  Hurt, JoJo crossed her arms and glared at him, willing him to recognize her presence.

  Eli broke the uncomfortable silence. “I take it you wanna go over to the Wrangler’s Roost.”

  “You take it right.” Lucky was already turning toward the left wing and his bedroom. “Just give me a few minutes to clean up.”

  “Will do.” Then Eli looked at her. “Uh, I can wait for Lucky over at the Roost.”

  “No, don’t leave.”

  “I thought you wanted to be alone.”

  “I wasn’t feeling festive enough for an evening out.” JoJo sank onto a couch, relishing its comfort. She was exhausted, both physically and emotionally. “That doesn’t mean I couldn’t use someone to talk to for a few minutes.”

  “That Adair fella volunteered…but I expect you have a hankering to talk about Lucky.” He grinned at her. “So what do you wanna know?”

  She wanted to know everything. Every detail of the way Lucky lived. How he thought. What his dreams were. Even what he planned to do next would be a start. Obviously, he’d come to some kind of crisis about his own identity, or he wouldn’t have stepped foot on the Macbride Ranch, where his father might get word of him.

  Or maybe that was the point. Maybe Lucky was ready for a showdown with the old man, even if he couldn’t admit it.

  Not knowing if Lucky had ever shared his past with Eli, she chose to begin with something totally innocuous. “How long ago did the two of you hook up?”

  “Coming on five years.”

  “You met where? At a rodeo?”

  “Shucks, no. We only been doin’ the rodeo circuit for the past coupla years.” Eli chuckled and shook his head. “Actually, we met in jail in a town in east Texas.”

  “Jail?” Not expecting that, JoJo started. “What for?”

  With a straight face, Eli told her, “I had this unfortunate misunderstanding with a grouchy cashier at a local café over some money.”

  Pulse racing, she asked, “What about Lucky?”

  “ Whew-ee. You ask the tough ones.”

  “Do you answer them?”

  Eli sucked in his cheeks, then, expression downright serious, said, “Lucky tried his best to kill a man with his bare hands.” A chill shot down JoJo’s spine.

  I’m afraid I might kill him, Lucky had said of his own father.

  JoJo guessed she’d been right to fear that Lucky Donatelli might be violent. Anger always seemed to simmer just below his surface. But before she could dig for the details of the incident that had landed
him in jail, JoJo heard a door open. She glanced down the hall to see Lucky, dressed in a fresh shirt and a scowl, advancing on them.

  “What are you two plotting?”

  Eli’s features went blank. “Just passin’ time, my friend. Just passin’ time.”

  “Then let’s get out of here.” Finally, at the door, he spoke directly to JoJo. “A hot shower and that chili would do you a world of good.”

  As if he cared, she thought resentfully, noting how flat and devoid of emotion his gray eyes were. “A lot of things would do me some good.”

  Like a hug and a reassurance that she hadn’t made a fool of herself with him. But no hug or reassurance was forthcoming. Not even a soft look that would have warmed her insides. Lucky was gone in a flash, Eli with him.

  Leaving JoJo wondering if Lucky hadn’t in some way tried to punish his father by bedding her without falling into what he thought of as a trap.

  That and his almost killing a man raised her suspicions about him all over again.

  “WHAT IN TARNATION’S going on?” Eli asked the moment he and Lucky stepped into the Wrangler’s Roost.

  Figuring his friend meant between him and JoJo, Lucky wasn’t about to be open on that issue, not when he didn’t know the answer himself. After their getting as close as two people could, if only for a short while, his feelings toward the redhead were more mixed than ever. Half of him wanted her gone, so that he wouldn’t be reminded of his father every time he looked at her. So that he wouldn’t wonder if she’d played him for the sucker, after all.

  The other half wanted to abscond with her, ride off into the night with her on Silverado and leave his past far behind. Make a fresh start.

  But this was no Western movie. This was his life. And he had a real future to think of.

  “Why don’t we go over the plans again?” he said to Eli.

  “Not until I get some answers.”

  Lucky glared. “You were never this interested in one of my women before.”