Hard to Handle (Caine Cousins #2)(13)

Wolfe and Lynx both roared with laughter.

“No one wanted to pick his nekkid ass up,” Wolfe said. “Ended up drivin’ the truck around and makin’ him ride in the back.”

“I had chigger bites on my fuckin’ balls,” Lynx grumbled, making everyone laugh.

Reagan giggled, she couldn’t help it. And when Lynx smiled shyly over at her, her damn heart kicked in her chest.

“Those were some crazy times,” another guy said. “Good times.”

“Yep,” Wolfe agreed.

“I recall a time when Wolfe decided to steal Old Man Gardner’s tractor,” Lynx said.

Rhys laughed.

“You were just a rookie back then,” Wolfe said to Rhys.

“Green as shit. Still, I managed to talk your ass down from that tractor.” Rhys glanced at Reagan. “He was nekkid. Said he didn’t want to drive drunk so he hijacked the tractor.”

Wolfe chuckled. “Avoided a DWI that night.”

“Only ’cause I didn’t want your bare ass in my truck.”

The look Wolfe shot Rhys was hot enough to catch the dry grass on fire. Reagan instantly looked away, embarrassed that she’d caught the look passing between the two men.

The song on the radio changed and a couple of guys turned to their girls, grinning. Reagan watched, somewhat jealous that they had someone to dance with.

Not that she wanted to dance, but there were plenty of times she’d wished for someone to look at her the way Travis Walker was looking at his wife. Truth was, she’d never had that. Certainly not with Billy. He preferred spending his time with his boys, leaving her to herself. And based on the way he treated her when they were in public, Reagan had preferred it as well.

She glanced up to see Lynx staring at her. The next thing she knew, her beer bottle disappeared from her hand and the man was leading her out to the open spot where other couples were dancing.

“What’re you doin’?” she asked, trying to pull away from him. “I told you no dancin’.”

Especially not to a slow song like this.

“One dance,” he said softly, tugging her closer.

“Lynx…”

He didn’t force her; instead, his steady gaze settled on her face as he waited. Reagan could feel the eyes of others on them, and she didn’t want to look like a total bitch, so she finally gave in. At least, that was the excuse she was going with. Definitely not the fact that she wanted to get close to him.

She blamed the beer. The one measly beer.

Right.

“Thanks for comin’ tonight,” he whispered softly, staring down at her as he pulled her in close.

Reagan nodded, not sure what to say to that. Hell, she was having difficulty breathing just being this close to Lynx. Forming words was not going to happen.

This man overwhelmed her. He always had, even if she played it off. How well she succeeded was anyone’s guess. But if she was even remotely believable, it damn sure wasn’t easy.

For one, he smelled so good. And perhaps it was because it wasn’t an expensive bottle of cologne that had her mouth practically watering. Billy had always doused himself in that shit and it gave her a headache. Not Lynx.

Add to that, his beautiful eyes, his perfectly crooked nose, and chiseled jaw, which had just the right amount of stubble to be sexy and not make him look like a mountain man. Then there were his tattoos and his hands … big, wide fingers. God, she could practically imagine his hands on her.

Shaking off the thought, Reagan cleared her throat, wishing the song would hurry up and end. Chancing a look up, she found Lynx was still watching her, a sexy smirk on his mouth.

“What?” she snapped.

“Nothin’. Nothin’ at all.”

“You know this doesn’t change anything,” she told him.

“Of course not.”

Reagan narrowed her eyes. “Why do you always say that?”

His answer was in the form of a mischievous smirk.

“I’m not one of your playthings, Lynx Caine.”

He leaned in, his mouth close to her ear. “Never that.”

The way he rasped those two words had a shiver dancing down her spine. There wasn’t even a hint of teasing in his tone, which both pissed her off and made her ache. This man confused her in so many ways. She knew him to be a playboy, never with the same woman for any length of time. Yet he seemed to have set his eyes on her and she had no idea why.

Reagan was nothing special. She couldn’t offer this man anything, so she had no clue why he would even be interested. Perhaps it was because she hadn’t slept with him. If she had, Lynx probably would’ve been long gone by now, moving on to the next girl in line.

She was lost in her thoughts when the song ended, but her self-preservation instincts were obviously on the mark, because she instantly pulled back, ready to extricate herself from his arms before she started to actually like this guy.

That was the last damn thing she needed right now.





6


__________


“Where’re you goin’?” Lynx asked, teasing Reagan as she pulled back when the song ended.

“You’re bad for my health, Lynx Caine,” she grumbled.

“Hmm. That sounds like a compliment.”

“It wasn’t.”