Ire filled him as he watched her give Edward Harnett the fucking fourth a long hug. Buck’s jaw tightened and his hands clenched the steering wheel so hard his knuckles turned white. What the hell was the guy doing there? Was Regina getting back together with him? They sure seemed cozy together.
As Harnett walked to his car, giving Regina a smile and wave over his shoulder, Buck pulled back into traffic, flooring the accelerator and driving right by the side street. He was fucking pissed. Yes, he’d screwed up—had hurt her physically and emotionally—but it hadn’t taken her long to give up on him and go back to the fiancé she’d left at the altar.
Buck smacked his hand on the steering wheel, ignoring the pain. “Should’ve known it was too fucking good to be true.”
With his mind bouncing around with anger, he almost missed the fact he was approaching a red light with cars already stopped ahead of him. Glancing in the rearview mirror, he slammed on the brakes and skidded to a stop a few feet from the car in front of him. The guy in the driver’s seat raised his hands in the air in what was probably a what-the-fuck gesture. Buck held up a hand and mouthed, “Sorry.”
If he didn’t get his head on straight, he’d end up killing someone. As he waited for the light to change, he thought about Regina and Edward—it didn’t make sense. From what she’d told him, Harnett had never been to Largo Ridge. She hadn’t loved him, or rather, hadn’t been in love with him. So, what was the guy doing at her house? Wasn’t he engaged to someone else now?
The light turned green and he accelerated just long enough to pull into a gas station and into a spot. He put the truck in park and took a few deep breaths.
You know Gi, asshole. She wouldn’t cheat on you. There has to be a logical explanation for Harnett being there, and yet you were ready to think the worst. You’re the one screwing up this relationship with her. Don’t make another fucking mistake. Go talk to her. Fight for the woman you love.
He should really listen to his inner self more often, instead of acting first and thinking things through later. “All right, Thompson. Go get your girl and don’t fuck it up again.”
A few minutes later, he pulled into the driveway behind Gi’s SUV, effectively blocking her in. After he climbed out of the truck, he looked toward the porch to find Regina standing there with her jacket on and purse and keys in hand. She’d obviously been going somewhere, but not if it was up to him. As he approached, she crossed her arms and cocked her hip. Even with her frown, she was so damn adorable.
“Well, it’s about time you showed up.”
He climbed the stairs slowly, intently, his gaze never leaving her face, before stopping in front of her. “I’d say it was way past time I showed up.” Her eyebrows shot up at his admission. “Want to tell me what your ex-fiancé was doing here before I say something I’m certain I’ll regret?”
Her jaw dropped for a moment. “You saw him?”
“Yup.” He’d tried to keep the jealous resentment out of his tone but wasn’t sure if he’d been successful. He was the one who’d fucked up and was supposed to be apologizing. Starting an argument over something he didn’t have the whole story about yet wasn’t the way to do that. They had enough problems to iron out between them without him adding any more. But he really needed to know what Harnett had been doing there before he started begging for forgiveness. “What was he doing here?” he repeated.
She inhaled and appeared to be about to lay into him, but then her gaze softened. She set a hand on his arm. “Edward needed some advice, and he wanted to say goodbye. He’s breaking his engagement to Courtney and moving to California to make a new start. He forgave me for leaving him the way I did and hoped I was happy with the new man I’ve started dating. Maybe you know him—he’s the guy who can be a stubborn jackass at times.”
A snort escaped him. “Yeah, that’s an understatement.” He glanced down at her purse and keys. “Are you going somewhere, or can we go inside and talk?”
“I was going to look for my stubborn jackass boyfriend and ream him out, but he decided to come here instead and save me the trip.”
He grinned at her. With a chuckle and an exasperated shake of her head, she spun around and used her house key to unlock the door. He followed her inside and shut the door behind him. Despite her teasing, he knew he wasn’t out of the woods with her yet.
Regina headed for the living room with him on her heels. She took off her coat and tossed it on a wingback chair along with her keys and purse. The chair, with its floral pattern, had been one of the last things her mother had bought before she and her husband had been killed. While it wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world, neither Regina nor her brother seemed to be in any hurry to get rid of it, even though it didn't go with the new couch Ryan had bought last year.
Turning around to face him, Regina crossed her arms and waited. He couldn't read her blank expression, but her body language told him he better start talking fast.
Sighing, he removed his coat and dropped it on top of hers. He held his hands out to his sides, palms up. "I'm sorry, Gi. For everything. For hurting you, not only physically, but for not taking your calls or texts. I was so horrified by what I'd done, I couldn't face you."
Damn it. It was bad enough he'd cried in front of Ryan, but now, his eyes were filling up with tears again. "I promised you I wouldn't run away from you ever again, and the first time shit got bad, I did just that. I was afraid you were going to tell me you couldn't live with my PTSD, and—”
"And it didn't occur to you to ask me if I could live with it? God, men are so fucking dense."
"Humph. Yeah, I guess you could say that." He swallowed hard and wiped his eyes with his fingers before any tears could fall. "Since forgiveness is being given out today, do you think you can toss some my way?"
"You really hurt me, Buck." Not only could he hear the heartache in her tone, but he could see it on her face. "The physical hurt I can get past—that was my fault, not yours. You weren't even aware of what was happening. But I can't keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. I can't live with expecting you to run off every time stuff gets bad or doesn't go according to whatever plan you have in that thick skull of yours."
His heart pounded. Was she saying she wasn't going to take him back? Wasn't going to give him a second chance? "I promise, baby, I may go for a jog or a drive if shit happens, so I can calm down, but I'll always come back to you." He took a step forward, closing the distance between them. Reaching out, he grasped both her hands and brought them to his mouth, kissing her knuckles. "Please, give me another chance. I can't promise I won't fuck up again, but I can guarantee I’ll do everything in my power to prevent it or make things right again. I'll even get down on my knees, if you want, and beg for mercy.”
She studied his face for several moments, leaving him hanging, waiting for an answer. Finally, she said, "I'll forgive you on one condition."
Thank God. "What's that?"
"Ryan said your friend Josh recommended getting a support dog."
A smile spread across his face. "I already filled out the application. They'll let me know in a few days if I'm eligible. It's expensive, but if a dog helps prevent me from hurting you again, I'll sell everything I own to get it.”
Tugging her hands out of his, she wrapped her arms around his neck. His hands dropped to her hips and pulled her flush against him. Going up on her toes, she brushed her lips across his. "I forgive you. And I'll do whatever I can to help raise the money for the dog."
"I can't ask—”
"I never said you had to ask. Now, shut up and kiss me."
God, what had he done in his miserable life to deserve this woman? Buck had no idea, but he wasn’t going to dwell on it as he kissed her with all the passion he felt. He hoped Ryan wasn’t planning on coming home anytime soon, otherwise the guy was going to hear his sister screaming in a way that would probably scar him for life.
Regina pulled away and grabbed Buck’s hand, leading him to her bedroom. It’d been ag
es since he’d stepped foot in the room, and he noticed the changes she’d made to it. It was no longer a teenaged girl’s room. Now, the decor made it clear a grown woman lived there.
Kissing, they slowly undressed each other. Buck didn’t want to rush this time. It was no longer sex between them. The emotions churning through him told Buck this was what it was like to make love to a woman.
Once they were naked, Buck retrieved a condom from his wallet and tossed it on the nightstand. He sat on the bed, grasped Regina’s hips, and pulled her between his legs. When his mouth closed around one of her nipples, her head fell back on her shoulders and her fingers threaded through the strands of his hair, holding his head to her bosom. He laved the turgid peak with his tongue before licking his way over to its mate.
Running his hands over the bare skin of her ass and back, he froze when she tensed and hissed in pain. It took him a moment to realize his fingers had brushed over one set of stitches. Hot guilt rushed through him, and he dropped his hands as if he’d burned her. But Regina grabbed his wrists and brought his hands up to her lower back. “It’s okay, Buck. They’re just a little sore. Please, don’t stop. Make us both forget what happened.”
After a moment’s hesitation, he kissed the pale skin between her breasts. Now mindful of her injuries, he settled his hands on her waist and lowered himself to lay flat, taking her with him. She straddled his hips, her wet heat resting against his hard length. He lifted his chin and found her mouth again. The little mews coming from her throat spurred him on. His hands and mouth explored every part of her body within their reach, while avoiding the stitches. Her skin was smooth and soft under his calloused palms, which left goose bumps in their wake.
Moving her long hair out of his way, Buck sucked on the sensitive flesh where her shoulder and neck met. Regina’s hips rocked back and forth, making him harder than he could ever remember being. His hand searched the bed next to him as she plunged her tongue into his mouth to slide against his. When his fingers finally found what he’d been looking for, he urged her to sit up. She took the foil wrapper from him, opened it, then gently rolled the condom down over his throbbing cock.
Rising on her knees, Regina positioned the tip of his shaft between her legs. Buck fought the compulsion to surge up into her, letting her ease herself down a little at a time. He clutched her hips as her warmth enveloped him. His eyes slammed shut as he tried to gain control.
Finally, she was fully seated on his groin. His cock twitched inside her as she placed her hands on his chest for support. A sexy smile spread across her face as she began to lift her hips before lowering them again. As her wetness eased the glide of his hard flesh against her walls, Buck thrust upward on each of her downstrokes.
Their pace increased as moans and gasps filled the air. Buck cupped one of Regina’s breasts, rolling the nipple between his fingers, as the thumb of his other hand found her clit. She threw her head back and screamed as her orgasm tore through her, her walls rippling around his shaft. Buck’s own climax took him by surprise, racing through him as his cries of release joined hers.
Draping herself over his torso, she softly kissed him as they both struggled to bring their breathing under control. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close, not wanting to ever let her go again.
"That looks beautiful, Tara," Regina praised a little girl, dressed as a fairy, who'd just finished painting a face on her pumpkin. There were a bunch of kids at the ski resort's "Pumpkin Patch Painting" area. Maxi and three members of the housekeeping staff were helping the kids pick out the orange gourds they wanted along with finding the right color paint they swore they needed for their creations. The night before Halloween was always so much fun at LRSR and many of the town's residents came to join the resort's guests in the fun-filled event. A lot of local teenagers also signed up to scare people along the haunted hayride route, which also kept those same teens from participating in what some called Mischief Night. Always the night before Halloween, it usually involved stringing toilet paper in trees, egging cars and houses, and other annoying vandalism. The mayor and town board had expressed their gratitude many times in the past for LRSR keeping the most likely participants in Mischief Night busy with other activities.
In addition to the hayrides and pumpkin patch, there was a scavenger hunt, a costume contest, dancing to a local band, plenty of food to sample, regular and hard apple cider to drink, and games to play. A great time was always had by all.
The last time Regina had volunteered to work the event, she'd been a teenager—actually, it'd been her senior year in high school. She'd been in NY for every Halloween since then, and it was only now that she realized how much she'd missed it. There were some things a city could never duplicate, and a hometown event like that was one of them.
It'd been cold enough all week for them to run the snow-making machines on the slopes, so there was enough packed snow for skiers and snowboarders, and the ice rink had also had some mechanical help in freezing over. Although the slopes and rink were not running during the evening before Halloween, they'd be open earlier and would be available again first thing in the morning. There would be plenty of time for the winter activities in the coming months, so the resort guests never minded missing them for a few hours during special events. From the forecast the local stations had been broadcasting, they'd have natural snow next week with plenty of freezing temperatures. Tonight, it was a comfortable forty-six degrees, which, in some areas of the US, was either too hot or too cold for this time of the year.
"How's everything going, girls? Do you need anything?" Grace Scott ambled over to check on them in the smaller of the resort's two pavilions, with concrete floors, wooden roofs, and wooden support beams, that were used for different events throughout the year. The other one currently housed the food, bar, rows of picnic tables, a dance floor, and the band. Grace ran a tight ship every year, and there were rarely any snafus that popped up during the evening.
Grace had opted for a simple witch's outfit this year. In the past, she and her husband had worn some of the most amazing, coordinated costumes, like Cleopatra and Marc Antony or Betsy Ross and Ben Franklin. They'd always kept their costumes a surprise until it was showtime. It must've been hard for Grace to choose something for this year without her beloved Matthew.
"I think we're doing great," Regina responded as she scanned the table full of little ones and their creations.
"Well, the costume contest starts in a little bit." The older woman set a hand atop a little girl's head behind the Minnie Mouse ears she was wearing. "So, hurry up and finish your pumpkins. I expect you all to enter. With these great costumes, it's going to be hard to pick winners."
Regina smiled, remembering Grace had said something similar every year when Regina had been that young.
As they'd been doing all night, screams and roars of laughter erupted from the woods. Tractors were pulling flatbeds topped with hay bales on a wide path through the trees and underbrush. Freddy Kruger, Jason from Friday the 13th, zombies, ghosts, vampires, the Blair Witch, skeletons, scary clowns, and others were jumping out from behind trees and large rocks, doing their best to frighten the guests.
While the other women helped the children finish their projects, Regina started cleaning up the paint that was no longer needed, along with the brushes and used paper towels. From behind, large hands grabbed her around the waist just as another round of screams filled the night. She yelped, jumped, and spun around, her heart pounding. Frowning, she smacked Buck on the arm. "Don't do that! You scared the heck out of me!"
Dressed as one of the three musketeers—Ryan and Justin were the other two—he looked so dashing it took her breath away. They’d gotten the outfits at the costume supply place where Grace and Matthew used to get theirs. It catered to theaters and people looking for extravagant getups. The blue cape, hat, and period clothing reminded her of the 1993 film about the musketeers with Charlie Sheen, Kiefer Sutherland, and several other well-known actors. She loved
the fact Buck, Justin, and her brother weren’t too embarrassed or worried about wrecking their macho images to not go all out with the costumes.
Chuckling, Buck raised an eyebrow. "The ‘heck’? That's it?"
"It is when there are little ears around. What are you up to?"
"Just checking on how my little Red Riding Hood is doing," he said with a covert leer, pulling her closer to him. He slid his hands under her red cape and the warmer jacket underneath. She was also wearing a pair of red sweatpants under the skirt of her costume. When it was time for the contest, between the number of people and the heat lamps in the larger pergola, she’d be able to shed the pants and jacket for the contest. “The big, bad wolf hasn't come knocking on your door yet, has it?"
She wrapped her arms around his torso, and lowered her voice, making it sexy and suggestive, and for his ears only. "Not yet, but I'm kind of hoping he'll stop by later and eat me."
With an anguished groan, he dipped his head down and gave her a PG-13 kiss, mindful of the big eyes that went with little ears around them.
With a sigh and a shift of his hips, he released her. "I can guarantee you'll get a visit from the wolf later. In the meantime, do you need anything event related?"
"Nope. I don't think so. You're all done with the games?" He'd been assigned to keep the games and parking lot running smoothly, while Ryan was in charge of the hayrides, and Justin kept an eye on the food, drinks, and anything else that wasn't already covered.
"Yeah. Just on my way to the contest." It was the other thing he was running with Grace's help. "You know, next year, we'll have to dress in a couple’s theme for the competition."
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