My Kind of Trouble

by Becky McGraw

  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.

  She didn't care what these people thought. Luke Matthews and Cassie Bellamy were together now, and they'd better just damned well get used to it. She smiled at familiar and not so familiar faces, held her chin high. She felt Luke's grip tighten on her elbow, and it seemed to her that he was not as unaffected as she was.

  After he'd pulled out a chair for her and she sat down, he sat in a chair beside her. She looked over at him and saw his shoulders were tense, and his jaw held tightly. Cassie grabbed his forearm and squeeze
d, "Relax, Luke...it'll be fine."

  "I guess word has gotten out that I resigned..."

  "Hold your head up, darlin' and don't let 'em see you sweat. You made the decision that was right for you, and they'll understand...eventually. And if they don't fuck 'em," she told him saucily.

  His lips moved up on one side to a semi-smile. "I like how you think, darlin'," he told her and notched his chin up then leaned over to kiss her in front of God and everyone in the steakhouse.

  Cassie heard more whispers and slid her left hand up to his cheek as she deepened the kiss, hoping they would see her gorgeous engagement ring. They wanted fodder for their gossip mill? She was going to give them plenty of grist, and get some sweet kisses from the man she loved in the process.

  The waitress cleared her throat, and they ended the kiss that had gotten a little out of control. "What can I get you to drink? Beer?" she said shortly, her pen hovering over her pad.

  Luke cringed when he realized it was the same waitress that had served him, Cole and Candy the last time he'd been here...a night he wished he could erase. And here he was again, making out with a different woman, even though this woman was his fiancé.

  "Um no, sweet tea please," he said sheepishly. Cassie ordered the same then the woman walked off.

  "Wow, wonder what her problem is?" Cassie said watching the waitress storm off toward the kitchen.

  "She probably remembers me from last time..." he told her and then flinched.

  "Same waitress?" she chuckled.

  "Yeah...unfortunately," he groaned and ran a hand through his hair.

  Cassie threw her head back and laughed. "Serves you right. I wanted to kill you that night too."

  "I'm sorry about that, honey..." his voice was low and sincere.

  "You said that already...forget it," she waved it off and took a sip of the tea the silent woman had just delivered to their table.

  Cassie let her gaze wander around the room trying to identify the faces seated at the tables in the packed restaurant. After their initial curiosity about her and Luke, they'd all gone back to their discussions, thank goodness. Her eyes snagged on a familiar redhead sitting near the wall on the left side.

  "Is that Becca Harvey over there?" she asked in a strained voice nodding her chin in that direction.

  "Looks like her, but I haven't seen her in years," he told Cassie with disinterest. Automatically, Cassie glanced up at his face, and saw that he truly wasn't interested. She believed him when he said he hadn't cheated on her, but old habits and thoughts died hard.

  She glanced back over at Becca, who was with an older man, or at least he looked older. He had a bald head and florid complexion with deep lines by his eyes and mouth. There was a red-haired boy of about nine sitting beside her, and a toddler on the other side in a high chair, and she rocked an infant in a car seat with her foot by her chair. As the old saying went, Becca Harvey looked like she'd been rode hard and put up wet. Haggard and much older than her age, which was twenty-eight, the same as Cassie.

  Becca must've felt Cassie staring at her, because she looked back over her shoulder and their eyes met. Becca's went instantly refrigerator cold, and she whipped her head back around to talk to the man at the table with her, then she got up, and carried the car seat around the table and sat it beside him. Cassie watched her smooth her floral print sundress over her round hips and then she turned to walk across the restaurant toward them with a sashay more suited to someone a lot less...full figured.

  "Oh, shit..." Cassie said and Luke looked up at her from his menu then followed her gaze and repeated the words. He set the menu down and grabbed her hand under the table.

  "Just be nice, darlin'," he said near her ear as the woman got closer to their table, before coming to a stop and standing before them with her hands on her hips.

  "See all you needed to?" she asked with spite tingeing her cigarette-roughened voice. "Thought I'd come over so you could get a really good look."

  "I was just surprised to see you again, Becca," Cassie said and gave her a tight smile.

  "No more surprised than I am to see you back in Bowie. And with Luke Matthews on your tail again, no less." She gave Luke a once over then looked back at Cassie. "Guess you're the reason he quit his job."

  "Actually, no...I'm going into cattle ranching," Luke piped in evenly.

  "I'd think you'd have learned your lesson from the last time she left you high and dry, Luke." Becca told him nastily, then warned, "She'll haul ass out of here again if a better opportunity comes along, just like she did last time."

  Luke stood up, and Cassie went to stand too, but he pushed her back down with a hand on her shoulder. "I think you need to sashay back over to your table, and your kids, Becca."

  "Or what? You're going to arrest me?" she spat and then put a finger up to her temple, "Oh, that's right, you can't do that you're not Sheriff anymore." An evil laugh followed her words and people were starting to stare at them again.

  Cassie had heard enough of the blustering bag of wind that had been her high school nemesis. She stood and walked around the table to get really close to Becca and stare down at her. The woman was short, and Cassie wanted to intimidate her, so she took one more step closer then said in a low whisper, "You didn't have any class in high school, and it looks like that hasn't changed. If I'm wrong, walk your ass back over to your table and leave us the hell alone."

  Becca took a step back and Cassie saw her chubby cheeks flush, and her hands were fisted at her hips. She hoped the shorter woman would make the mistake of taking a swing at her, because Cassie owed her a few, and by god she'd enjoy giving them to her. Evidently, Becca thought better of it, and spun on her heel to stomp back across the restaurant, knocking things off of several of the closely spaced tables as her hips bumped them.

  Cassie stifled the hysterical laughter that wanted to escape her then stiffened her spine and went back to her seat. "Damn that felt good." she said and sat down then took a drink of her tea. "I think I need a real drink, darlin'."

  Luke threw back his head and laughed, then waved at the waitress. She came over and he ordered Cassie a tequila sunrise. "You're a force to be reckoned with, Cassie Bee."

  "You better believe it," she said then grabbed both sides of his face and planted a smacking kiss on his surprised lips.

  When the waitress delivered her drink, she removed the straw and drank it down from the glass, then put it down on the table and sighed. "Thanks, darlin', I needed that," she said then her smile faded as a latent thought hit her. What if she was pregnant?

  "Oh god, Luke..." her hand flew to her tummy, and she said anxiously, "What if I'm pregnant..." Her lip trembled and she grabbed his hand. "I shouldn't have drank that."

  A concerned frown pinched between his brows, but he assured her, "If you are, I don't think one drink this early on would be a problem. Especially as watered down as they make them here. Just don't drink anymore, darlin'."

  "I won't. God, I'm terrible..." she moaned and put a fist to her forehead.

  "It's okay, Cassie Bee," he told her and gently put his hand over hers on her stomach. Something fierce, elemental and protective sparkled in his eyes with the gesture.

  Her smile felt wobbly on her lips as she grinned at him, and they shared a moment of intense emotional connection. He leaned over and gave her a whisper of a kiss and she sighed.

  Shaking her head to break from the dreamy haze he'd woven around her, she said, "I think we need to order, so I can soak up the alcohol quickly."

  "Good idea..." he said then flagged the waitress down again.

  They chatted and ate the delicious steaks and potatoes, then declined dessert, because they were both stuffed. After they talked a few more minutes, while the table was cleared and the check was delivered, Cassie knew her time had run out. She picked up her purse from the chair beside her and set it in her lap. Luke thought that was her cue she was ready to leave, and he started to stand up.