"I'll call him right now," Carl said then
positioned his walker and pushed to his feet.
"When are you two getting hitched
anyway?"
"As soon as possible. I thought we might
have a big Bar-B-Que and invite all the neighbors and town people.
Maybe a month from now?
Her daddy laughed, "You and Imelda better
get to planning."
She smiled, "I've been planning since he
asked me, after I woke up from my dead faint."
"You fainted?" he hooted incredulously.
"Yep, passed right out," she responded with
a grin.
Her daddy howled with laughter, then grabbed
the handles of his walker, "Can't wait to see what you do for an
encore at the wedding."
***
Two days later, her daddy presented her with
the paperwork to transfer the herd to Cole and Luke, and a 99-year
lease on the ground they needed to work them. She wrote her daddy a
sizable check for Luke's portion, then stuffed the papers into her
purse.
She'd arranged with Luke for them to go to
dinner at the steakhouse in town tonight, so she could give him his
'gift'. She'd just told him that she felt like celebrating their
engagement, since they were back home, and he'd agreed. Cole had
gone to the lawyer's office to sign the papers and pay for his
portion earlier, before her daddy had gotten the paperwork. It was
all set now.
There was a bounce in her step as she went
up the stairs to find Luke, well as much of a bounce as she could
have with the cast that was still on her ankle. He'd been working
in the barn with Bud, and he was getting cleaned up for their
'date'. She walked into her bedroom and her mouth went dry, when
she found him naked and drying himself off.
Desire surged through Cassie and she knew
her plans had just got delayed a little, which didn't disappoint
her at all looking at the incredible man she loved. "Well, don't
you look good enough to eat," she said saucily and closed the door
behind her locking it. He gave her a sexy smile and dropped the
towel he was holding to the floor, just as she dropped her purse
and started unbuttoning her blouse.
Cassie walked over to him and had the blouse
and her bra off by the time she got there. His eyes latched onto
her breasts and his gaze was hot as it traveled over her. She
stopped in front of him to lightly trace her fingers over his
shoulders and chest, while she licked the remaining water droplets
from his skin. Her attention started at his chest, then she moved
across his stomach and down his abs, then lower.
"Mmmm...you taste so good...just like
sugar," she said and licked a stray droplet from his hip.
A groan rumbled deep in his chest and he put
his hands on either side of her head, trying to pull her back up to
him. Cassie shook loose and dropped to her knees in front of him
and took him in her hand, stroking him as she looked up into his
heated whiskey-colored eyes. She licked her lips, and his gaze
followed her tongue then he hardened in her hand. Smiling up at him
Cassie bent to lick a droplet from the head of his cock. His body
jerked then a fine tremor passed through him.
Cassie smiled up at him again then holding
his eyes, she swirled her tongue slowly around the head and then
slid her tongue down the vein running underneath and back up,
before she took him into her mouth. Luke growled and tangled his
fingers in her hair. Then she felt him shiver as she began to work
her mouth around him in rhythm with her hand.
Running her other hand up his thigh, she
stroked his dewy skin then moved to gently cup his testicles. His
fingers tightened in her hair and he pulled her closer to him. She
took him deeper inside and sucked at the same time she gently
squeezed his sack. A throaty low-pitched moan escaped him and she
saw his breathing was short and shallow. She sucked harder and
moved her hand faster at the base of his cock.
He tried to pull her away from him and he
said in a low desperate voice, "Move darlin', I'm real
close..."
She shook her head, then slid her hand to
his ass to hold him close, while she continued moving her mouth
over him until she heard him roar his climax, and she felt warm
spurts of his essence against the back of her throat. She held him
until he finished and then slid her mouth off of him with a pop and
licked her lips. "Yep, sweet as sugar," she said in a low sensuous
tone.
"Good god, darlin', you almost killed me,"
he growled and pulled her up to him to claim her mouth in a rough
kiss.
Her breasts pressed against his still damp
chest, and the soft hair there teased her nipples into erect points
that sent waves of desire washing through her. Luke put his hands
on her bottom and lifted her up against his still steely hardness,
then took kissing her to another level, as he devoured her mouth.
After a few moments, she was the one breathing frantically,
desperate for him to be inside of her. She lifted her uninjured leg
to wrap it around his calf and whimpered.
Luke held her to him and walked her
backwards until the back of her legs touched the bed. He gently
laid her down, then came down beside her never breaking from
feasting on her mouth. Cassie moaned when he pressed his erection
against her thigh, and wiggled her hips to ease the ache building
in her core. The friction against him had her panting and gasping
as she reached down to unzip her shorts with a trembling hand.
Quickly, his hand replaced hers on the
zipper and he made quick work of pushing her shorts and panties
down her legs. As soon as they were off, his fingers found the nub
at the apex of her thighs and he massaged her there until she was
wet and wild for him.
"Luke, I need you inside me now," she gasped
against his mouth.
He shook his head and continued kissing her
and touching her, as if she were his last meal. An orgasm of epic
proportions bore down on her and she surfed along the waves of
pleasure pounding through her.
"Oh, god, Luke..." she whimpered moving her
hips in rhythm with his magical fingers. "Oh, yes..." Cassie
shouted as waves of pleasure washed over her and her body vibrated
with her release while her brain was seized by the extreme
sensations gripping her as she rode it out.
Her inner muscles were still pulsing when he
moved over her and lifted her leg over his forearm then pushed
inside of her to seat himself fully. Once inside, his body
stiffened and he remained still, his jaw clenched. Gasping at the
incredible sensation of having his fullness stretching her, Cassie
felt another orgasm building inside and started moving her hips
against him. With a groan, he gripped her butt and moved with her,
faster and faster as if they couldn't get enough of each other.
She felt him stiffen again and then he
looked down into her eyes, "
Mine
...." he said fiercely and
then shouted his release at the same time she shattered and floated
over the cliff with him.
"Good, god, Luke...that was something," she
panted when he lowered himself down beside her and pulled her into
his arms.
"Unbelievable..." he agreed with a sigh.
After a few moments of silence, Luke asked her, "You on the pill
honey?"
Panic ran through her for a moment when she
realized they hadn't used a condom, but it was quickly replaced by
contentment...and hope. "Nope..." she admitted and chewed her lip.
"But if it happens, darlin', I'll be happy."
He pulled back to look down into her eyes.
"Really?"
"Yeah, I can't think of anything I'd rather
do than have your baby," she said with heady emotion causing tears
to fill her eyes.
Luke hugged her to him fiercely and a tremor
passed through him. "God, I love you, Cassie Bee."
Cassie and Luke went to the bathroom where
she duct taped a trash bag over her cast, a routine she'd become
used to, and showered while he cleaned up. Afterward, they went
back to the bedroom to get ready for dinner. He dressed pretty
quickly, he was a man and didn't have much to do, but she wanted to
dress up for him tonight. With a kiss, Luke left her to get ready
while he went downstairs to talk to her daddy.
Glad she'd packed most of her remaining
clothes, the ones James hadn't destroyed, she rifled through the
boxes and picked out a stretchy silver dress with a ragged uneven
hem that hugged her body. Digging deeper she found flat silver
sandals with sparkly jewels on the straps and took one of the pair
and put it on her right foot. She sighed in frustration over the
fact that the gaudy green cast was going to be her mandatory
accessory for another week or so. She couldn't wait to get it off.
It itched something fierce these days, and she couldn't scratch
inside, which drove her crazy.
After putting on her makeup, she fluffed her
hair and turned upside down to spray it into Texas big hair, a
trick any good southern girl knew. She smiled and grabbed her purse
from the floor where she'd dropped it earlier when she'd seduced
Luke.
Her hand went to her flat stomach and she
rubbed it in circles, hoping she was actually carrying his baby.
Tingles flooded through her just thinking of the pretty dark haired
girl with blue eyes...or the blonde little boy with whiskey brown
eyes like is father. Luke would be a good daddy, he felt things
deeply, cared deeply and fiercely protected those he loved. He
hadn't had a family to speak of growing up, and his father
certainly hadn't been a good example, but Luke had turned out to be
a good man, regardless. Cassie wanted to give him the family he'd
never had.
Going downstairs, she found him in the
kitchen at the table with her daddy, and they were laughing and
joking. He looked up when she came in and his face froze, then he
whistled. "Damn, Cassie you trying to get me into trouble
again?"
She laughed, "Any trouble you find is your
own doing, darlin'."
"You look beautiful, sugar," Luke said with
a sense of awe in his tone.
"Thank you..." She walked closer and gave
him a soft kiss. "We'd better get going, my stomach is growling."
Then she looked at her daddy and asked, "Daddy you want us to bring
you anything back?" Luke stood up and she slid her arm through
his.
"Nah, I ate earlier, I'm just going read
then go to bed. Ya'll have fun." he said, then pinned Luke with a
playful glare. "And you have her back home before midnight boy...or
I'll fill your ass with the buckshot I saved from the night you
tried climbing in her window," Carl chortled then guffawed.
Cassie saw a blush stain Luke's cheeks.
"Yes, sir, I sure don't want to ever stare down the business end of
that shotgun again," he said and swallowed.
Her daddy chuckled again then gripped his
walker and stood up. "The next time you see it will be at your
wedding, if you aren't careful, boy."
Luke took a step back and got even redder if
that was possible. Her daddy must've heard their caterwauling
earlier, and she felt blood rush to her cheeks too. "No need for
that daddy--we're getting married soon," she reminded him.
"Bout damned time too," he said grumpily
then walked past them and out the kitchen door.
Laughter bubbled up inside of Cassie and she
couldn't contain it. She leaned over gripping her stomach and said
between gasping breaths, "Busted again, darlin'."
Luke grumbled and took her arm, pulling her
up. "Let's go," he said shortly then towed her through the house,
still laughing.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
When they got to his truck, Luke opened her
door and helped her inside, then shut it behind her to walk around
to his side. Cassie unzipped her purse to get a tissue to wipe away
the tears of mirth at the corners of her eyes. The paperwork she'd
stuffed in there earlier in the day taunted her. Quickly grabbing
the small pack of tissues, she zipped her purse back up as Luke
slid behind the wheel, then pulled out a tissue and dabbed at her
eyes.
He studied her for a second, then smiled and
said, "You look like a goddess out here in the moonlight, sugar.
That dress shines like moon beams."
"Jesus, Luke, you're a poet..." she
whispered as his words touched her. "That was beautiful." Her gruff
cowboy had a tender heart, how the hell had she gotten so lucky? He
had layers, and the more she unwrapped the more she loved him.
Cassie scooted across the bench seat to sit
beside him, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "I love
you, Luke," she told him then leaned up to place a gentle kiss on
his mouth. He gave her another of his own, then lifted his arm off
her shoulders to start the truck.
Their trip the steakhouse was a lot more
pleasant than her last one had been with James. That night, it was
all she could do to keep from strangling both James
and
Luke. Tonight, as she walked inside with him, pride and
anticipation filled her. Pride that she was beside the best looking
man in Bowie, and he loved her, and anticipation that she'd finally
get the mess of the herd purchase settled by giving him his wedding
gift.
Luke pulled off his sexy black dress
Stetson, and held it at his side as he asked the hostess for a
table. She led them through the restaurant to a table near the
back. Eyes of the citizens of Bowie followed them across the room
as they walked behind the hostess to their table. Cassie saw heads
turning to study them intently, and she heard whispers behind their
backs.