Untouched

by Maisey Yates

  “Yes, and do you know what I felt when I found that out?”

  “What?”

  “Nothing. I can’t lie to myself anymore. I can’t pretend that’s happiness. I can’t pretend it’s life. I can’t pretend it matters. Not when I’ve been with you. Not when I’ve seen what life can really be like. That? It’s all a shadow compared to what you bring to me.”

  “Me?” she asked again, apparently stuck on repeat. “But you’re . . . so sexy. And amazing. And older.”

  “Seriously? Again with that?”

  “I still think it’s hot. But . . . but I’m a computer geek who was recently a virgin, and who barely lived life away from the screen before you. And somehow . . . I’m the one who brings life to you? You brought it to me, Quinn. You made me brave.”

  “Lark Mitchell, how can you question, for one moment, everything you bring to me? You are brave, with or without me. You’re diabolical—leaving your underwear in my bed was plain evil. You’re weird, and beautiful, and you make me laugh, and I can’t remember when I did that and meant it before you came into my life.” He smiled. “There, I thought of something else you are.”

  “What?”

  “My laughter.”

  “Stop it,” she said, a tear sliding down her cheek. “You’re making me melt. I will be melted. You don’t want a melted girlfriend.”

  “I don’t know that I want a girlfriend at all.”

  “What?”

  “I want something a lot more permanent than that. I’d really like a wife, and I’ve never wanted one of those before. But I want to keep you forever and that seems about the most societally acceptable way to go about it, something else I’ve never cared about before.”

  “A wife?”

  “Scary?”

  “Yeah. But . . . but . . . wonderful. And right. But you have to understand something first.”

  “What?”

  “I never needed you to change. I never needed you to be more. I never needed anything more from you but you being Quinn Parker. You say I’m all these things for you, that I fill all these empty places, but don’t you know you do that for me too? Don’t you know? I was scared of my own shadow before I met you. Afraid to want. Afraid to love. I feel like you broke the cage I was locked in. Like you set me free, like you helped me find . . . me.” She cupped his face, looked into his eyes. “You are enough. Shame on your family for not knowing it. Shame on them for making you feel like less, because they were too afraid, too selfish, to see what a gift they had in you. They made you feel like you were wrong, because they were angry at themselves, and you were the easiest way to express that.”

  “You think?”

  “Yes. Also, I think I’m a damn good amateur psychologist. I should be charging you by the hour.”

  He smiled, a lopsided, genuine grin. “I can afford you.”

  “Yes, that’s right, you can.” She paused for a second. “Speaking of affording . . . can my brothers still afford the ranch?”

  “You’re just asking me that now?”

  “Stupid as it is, I love you no matter what. Whether you ride on the circuit, whether you’ve carried out your vengeance . . . no matter what.”

  “Well, they can still afford the ranch, because I told my buddy to leave the contracts be. I actually put a stop to it after you left. Before I found out Jake was the one who put the spike under Cade’s saddle.”

  She shook her head. “Big bad Quinn Parker . . . making good decisions and thinking of others. Your street cred is ruined.”

  “Don’t let it get around.”

  “You better go straight to the tattoo parlor and get a unicorn horn and glitter added to your tattoo.”

  “No.”

  “But you aren’t angry anymore,” she said, smiling at him. “You aren’t, are you?”

  “I’m not. But I’m not getting unicorn tattoo. You get one if you want.”

  “Me? A tattoo?”

  “Could be pretty damn sexy. Although, you don’t need anything extra to be sexy.”

  She raised her eyebrows. “Not even lingerie?”

  “I like the lingerie, but you don’t need it.”

  “Dalek undies will do?”

  “Baby, anything will do, as long as I have you.”

  “Even if I’m threatening to exterminate your bits?”

  He kissed her lips. “You won’t really do it.”

  “I know. They’re too valuable to me.”

  “I hope the man attached to the bits is valuable too.”

  “I know I already told you how much,” she said, pushing his hat off of his head and onto the floor, weaving her fingers through his hair, “but I’ll say it again until you believe it. Until you know that every drop of your blood is good.”

  Quinn closed his eyes and rested his forehead against Lark’s, an intense burst of happiness tearing through him. He’d never felt anything like it. Had never felt so complete. So whole.

  Had never simply felt like being, just breathing in air, was enough.

  But he did now. With Lark’s arms around him, he did.

  “I love you,” he said.

  “I love you too.”

  He put his hands on her hips, to keep her near him, to keep himself from falling at her feet. “I’ve never had a place in this world,” he said. “I’ve spent all my life searching.”

  “The search is done, Parker. You have a place. In my heart.”

  He closed his eyes, a wave of emotion threatening to wash him away. “There is no other place I’d rather be.”

  “I’m glad to hear it.”

  He just held her, felt her warmth, her body. Just her. The woman he loved. The woman who brought him peace. “This is the closest thing to perfect I’ve ever had in my life.”

  “What would make it perfect?” she asked.

  “If Cade Mitchell wasn’t going to be my brother-in-law.”

  She laughed. “I didn’t say yes, you know.”

  “Then say yes.”

  “Me saying yes to you is how we got into this mess in the first place. The work contract?”

  “That’s true. I was thinking of the other times you said yes.”

  Her cheeks turned pink and she cleared her throat. “Yeah, well, there was that too.”

  “Face it, Lark, good things happen when you say yes to me.”

  “Fine, then . . . yes.”

  “Yes to what?”

  She smiled, and his whole world got brighter. “Yes to forever.”

  Epilogue

  “Today is insane,” Lark said, looking around at the barbecue that was set up in the covered arena in honor of the first class to “graduate” from the program at Longhorn.

  There were parents, foster parents, parole officers, family and friends. An eclectic group, but considering the group, it seemed right.

  “Yeah,” Quinn said, surveying the pandemonium, “it is. But it’s pretty awesome too.”

  “I’ve never seen them happier.”

  “It’s amazing what a little direction can do. More than that, it’s amazing what love can do.” He looked at Lark, at the diamond ring glittering on her left hand. He’d asked her properly after the clumsy, ringless proposal in her house five months ago.

  He’d even gotten her brothers’ blessing. Or he’d at least gotten their promise not to punch him in the face again.

  “Love is pretty kick-ass,” she said, beaming at him.

  “Yeah.” He managed to look away from her, at everyone scattered around the ranch. At Jill and Sam, who had never looked happier, standing there with Jake, who finally had a home. “Love is pretty kick-ass all right.” He took a deep breath, and made a decision, then and there. “What do you think about moving the wedding up?”

  “To when?”

  “Summer.”

 
“But that’s the middle of the next competition season.”

  He took a deep breath and looked down at Lark, at the woman who’d become his world over the past few months. The woman who had managed to glue all the broken pieces in him back together. She’d rebuilt him. Made him better. She’d made something that had been the biggest thing in his life seem so very small now. “I don’t think I’m going to compete again,” he said slowly. “At least not this year.”

  “But . . . but . . .”

  “I’ve been thinking a lot about it. And the timing doesn’t feel right. Everything is going so well here. And I just . . . I don’t feel like I need it, Lark. I used to think that if I couldn’t compete . . . there wouldn’t be anything for me. But that’s the furthest thing from the truth. Everything in my life right now is more important than the circuit. You’re more important.”

  “Quinn, I don’t want you to give this up for me.”

  “You’ll still love me if I’m not a big rodeo star, right? You aren’t a secret buckle bunny are you?”

  “Maybe. Maybe I am.”

  “I don’t believe it.”

  “I have secrets. Secrets only my browser history knows.”

  “Mysterious,” he said, kissing the top of her head. “I like that. It’s sexy.”

  “Yes, well. I try.”

  “I just feel like my priorities have changed. I was this guy willing to do anything to get back into the rodeo. Now . . . my life is full, Lark.”

  She blinked rapidly, her eyes glittering. “That’s so good to hear. And you know I’m all about marrying you sooner. Even if you’re not a big rodeo star. But I just need to be sure it’s what you want, and not what you think will make me happy, because as long as I have you, there is no unhappy, Quinn.”

  “That’s just how I feel. What I do . . . it just doesn’t matter as much, not when I’ve got you. I might go back someday. But for now I think I want to stay here. And do this. Run the ranch. Be with you. Keep you near your family. This feels like my home to me. The first one I’ve ever had. I always felt out of place in my parents’ house. And I just sort of drifted everywhere else. But this place, with you? This is home. I’m not in a big hurry to leave it.”

  “Welcome home, Quinn Parker.” Lark hugged him, that way that only she could, the way that made him feel like his heart was going to shatter into a million pieces, then reform, stronger and bigger than ever. “You are an amazing man, do you know that?”

  When he’d first met Lark, he was nothing. A man with no home, no family and bad blood. Now he had her. A place to call home. And he knew he wasn’t worthless. Because Lark loved him.

  He leaned down and kissed the top of her head. “Thanks to you, I actually do.”

  Keep reading for a special preview of the next Silver Creek romance from Maisey Yates

  UNBROKEN

  Available August 2014 from Sensation

  “It’s bad form to get drunk at your sister’s wedding, right?”

  “Since when has that ever stopped you, Cade?”

  Amber Jameson leaned back in the folding chair and then checked to make sure the little purple bow tied to the back hadn’t fallen off and onto the grass. She’d spent too many damn hours tying those things on yesterday.

  They were finicky. Finicky flipping ribbons. Almost as finicky as the bride who, while cute as a button under normal circumstances had had a bridezilla flare-up during the decorating yesterday and had gone around micromanaging said ribbon tying.

  And placement.

  She’d demanded ribbon curls in lengths that were impossible for mere mortals to achieve. If Lark weren’t the little sister Amber had always wanted, she would never have gone along with all of it. Not without attacking her with the scissors she was using to curl ribbons, at least.

  But then, Lark’s life had been short on frills. Being raised by two brothers and a dad. So Amber supposed she was entitled.

  But then, Amber’s life had been short on this kind of thing too, and she didn’t feel at all yearny for it. Nope. Marriage and men and bleah. Not her thing. Not these days.

  “It doesn’t usually,” Cade said, leaning back in his chair so that they were sitting at the same angle. “But I thought, since this is for Lark, maybe I should behave.”

  She looked at her friend’s profile. Strong, handsome. Square jaw, roughened with dark stubble. Brown eyes that always had a glint of naughty in them. And today was wearing a suit jacket and a tie, along with a black cowboy hat.

  Damn, damn, damn he was fine. Sometimes it hit her. Like shitton of bricks, that her best friend was the best looking guy in a five hundred mile radius. Or possibly the world. And it made her feel . . . things she didn’t want to feel.

  Then he turned to face her head on and offered her his very best smart-ass Cade smile, and the moment faded out as soon as it hit. Like driving on one of Silver Creek’s fir-lined highways and seeing a sunbeam peek through the trees. A brilliant shaft of light that colored the world gold for just a moment before racing back behind the dark green branches. Just a glimpse, an impression of something she didn’t want to explore.

  Like, ever.

  “When did she grow up?” Amber asked, looking over at the dance floor where Lark was currently holding onto her new husband, both of them swaying to the music without displaying any particular dancing skills. Quinn was a rough and tumble cowboy type, though he seemed to have a little more rhythm than his new bride. “It makes me feel old,” she continued. “Like an old cliche. Sitting here at her reception looking at this grown-up woman in a wedding gown and thinking . . . how is she not eight years old still?”

  “Imagine how I feel,” Cade said, his voice rough.

  “Yeah, I know.”

  The Mitchells were a part of Amber’s cobbled together family. She didn’t have a lot in the way of people who loved her, so when she found people who were willing to accept her, she clung to them as best as she could.

  In her younger years that clinging amounted to some very poor decisions, but she’d matured past that. Especially after she’d realized that her grandma and grandpa weren’t going to just ship her straight back into the system. That they were going to let her stay in Silver Creek.

  That she could stay, with them, in their home.

  Since then, she’d built herself a solid foundation for her life. And Cade was the cornerstone. Had been since she was fourteen years old. She would never, ever do anything to jeopardize that.

  Though, there was nothing wrong with infrequent, secret ogling.

  “Are you having empty nest syndrome, Mitchell?” she asked, nudging him with her elbow.

  “Me? Oh, hell no. This nest isn’t getting emptier. Maddy runs around like hell on pudgy feet. That little beast cut holes in one of my work shirts the other day with those little plastic handled scissors. And now Cole and Kelsey have the other baby coming in January. Nope, it’s just filling up over here.”

  “But Lark’s gone.”

  “She’s been gone. She’s been shacking up with that asshole I now call a brother-in-law for a year.”

  She patted his thigh and didn’t notice how hard, and hot and muscular it was beneath those thin dress pants. “I know. But now it’s official.”

  “Yep.”

  “Emotions don’t bite, Cade. Don’t run from your feels,” she said dryly.

  “That’s pretty rich coming from you, missy.”

  She made a face at him and earned a smile. “I don’t have to take advice to give it. I’m emotionally stunted and I know it.”

  “That’s why we get along so well.”

  “I thought it was because I’m such a good pool player,” she said, lifting her beer up from the table and taking a long drink.

  “That’s not it. I’m a lot better than you are.”

  “Uh huh.”

  “What do you think?”
he asked. “Wanna dance?”

  She eyed Cade. More specifically his leg. The one she hadn’t just patted. “Um . . . really?”

  He lifted a shoulder. “Okay, maybe not.” The grooves around his mouth deepened and Amber felt an answering chasm deepen around her heart.

  She hated that he couldn’t dance anymore. Hated that the man she knew as being so totally vital and energetic, was hobbled because of a rodeo accident four years ago.

  For a long time they’d all blamed Quinn, Lark’s husband, but they found out they’d been mistaken. Hard for Cade to process, as evidenced by the fact that he frequently referred to his new brother-in-law as an asshole.

  They were getting there, but they weren’t exactly best friends yet.

  The dude bonding process was not yet complete.

  Now they didn’t know quite who to blame, except for a poor kid who’d been paid sabotage the ride. The spike he’d put beneath Cade’s horse’s saddle had only been intended to end the ride faster, not send Cade to the hospital and cause life changing, career ending injuries. Getting hung up on your horse was never a good thing, but when the horse was that spooked? You didn’t walk away. You got carted away on a stretcher.

  Quinn got to move on from it all. His name was cleared. He was reinstated into competitions. And the question of who’d sabotaged Cade was left unanswered.

  And Cade would never be fixed. Even if they did find out who was behind it, Cade wouldn’t magically be healed, damage undone by justice. That hurt her. Always. Every day.

  Because whenever she had a problem Cade was there. He was always trying to fix things for her. Had been since they were in high school. But there was no fixing this for him. And she’d give her own leg to do it. So he could go back to doing what he loved.

  She only used her legs to wait tables and help around her grandparents ranch.

  She didn’t do anything like Cade. Watching him ride? It had always sent a flash of light down her spine. A spark that lit her up everywhere and sent tingles to places.

  It was art with him. Athletic grace, and sheer masculine willpower. Straining muscles, gritted teeth, dirt, sweat and mud flying in the air.