Hard to Handle (Caine Cousins #2)(27)

Turning down the dirt drive, Lynx noticed Reagan’s truck was parked outside. He pulled his truck behind hers and then cut the engine. Before he got the first chair out of the truck, he heard the front screen door squeak open. Taking a deep breath, he focused on his task, doing his best not to look at her.

She didn’t say a word until he was putting the second chair in place on the porch.

“Lynx?”

He turned away from her, eager to get back in his truck and go home. He’d left Copenhagen at the house that morning and he was eager to see his dog. For whatever reason, Copenhagen calmed him, helped him to reason through his thoughts. He needed that right now.

“Thank you for the chairs.”

He offered a curt nod, still not looking at her. “You’re welcome.”

“And … I’m sorry,” Reagan said softly.

“Okay.” He didn’t know what else to say. He didn’t blame her for anything that had happened, but he also didn’t want to get into it right now. His control was tenuous at best, and the more he was around her, the more fragile it became.

“Will you look at me, please?”

Swallowing hard, he turned to face her, shoving his hands in his pockets.

“What happened back at the warehouse…” Reagan took a deep breath. “I shouldn’t’ve kissed you, and I’m sorry.”

He nodded. The lump that those words caused swelled in his throat and threatened to strangle him. The thought of losing her before he even had her was too much for him to bear.

“Okay, that’s a lie,” she added, her eyes still locked with his. “I’m not sorry. For kissing you. I’m… I’ve been wantin’ to do that for a long time. I’m just sorry I can’t give you what you want. You have to realize what I’ve been through. Dealin’ with Billy…”

Oh, he got it, all right. But he wasn’t Billy. Not even remotely close.

Another nod was all he could offer. Although she thought the explanation was helping, it wasn’t. Not one fucking bit.

“Please say somethin’,” she urged.

Lynx shook his head. “Nothin’ to say.”

And that was the truth.

He feared if he opened his mouth the truth would come out, and he wasn’t sure he could handle much more of her rejection.

Certainly not today.



Reagan wasn’t sure she’d ever seen Lynx like this. The pained expression was hard to miss, but she had no clue what to say to erase it. The man … he threatened her heart in ways he would never understand. She’d been in love with him for so long, but she’d convinced herself he was off-limits. For chrissakes, he’d even told her she couldn’t handle what he wanted from her. She knew that to be true.

And it had nothing to do with sex. She’d had more than her fair share of fantasies about the man, plenty of time spent with her vibrator. She could handle that aspect of it easily. Even now, her body was telling her that being with him would be the greatest pleasure she’d ever known. However, her brain and her heart weren’t thinking along those same lines.

No, she was thinking on an emotional level, and the hell Billy had put her through… It was still fresh in her mind. And although she knew Lynx wasn’t Billy, there was still the risk of heartache in a different form. Something far greater than any pain Billy could’ve put her through. No, she wasn’t interested in having her heart broken again. Letting Billy go was one thing. If she ever got Lynx within her grasp and then had to let him go … Reagan wasn’t sure she’d be the same person after that, which was what scared her the most.

Before she could say anything more, the sound of an engine pulling down the drive had them both turning.

Wolfe’s big black Silverado rolled to a stop behind Lynx’s truck.

She released a breath. A sigh of relief, maybe? Or was that disappointment that was slowly filling her up?

“What’re you kids up to?” Wolfe asked when he got out of the truck and walked around to open the passenger-side door.

“Nada,” Lynx offered, his tone far more cheerful than a second ago.

The huge grin on Wolfe’s face said that all was right in his world.

Reagan glanced over at Amy. Her smile was equally big as she held Wolfe’s hand and walked up to the porch.

“We came by to get Amy’s…” Wolfe glanced down at Amy. “You wanna tell ’em?”

Her smile practically engulfed her entire face and her eyes sparkled when she looked up at the man.

Oh, yeah, that girl was in love, no doubt about it.

Reagan didn’t move from where she stood, a few feet behind Lynx.

“Wolfe asked me and Rhys to move in with him,” Amy said, her eyes darting back and forth between Reagan and Lynx.

“Very cool,” Lynx said, but he very well could’ve said, “Whatever,” for as much enthusiasm as he put into it.

“We’re still gonna take it slow,” Amy added, obviously picking up on Lynx’s tension. “I mean—”

“You don’t have to explain,” Reagan said, plastering a smile on her face. “Like I told you before, as long as the three of you are happy, it doesn’t matter.”

“Right,” Amy noted, once again smiling as she peered up at Wolfe. “I’ll be right back.”