Hard to Handle (Caine Cousins #2)(39)
He nodded. “I’m fine. I wasn’t at the bar last night.”
“Oh. Where were you?”
“Here. Asleep.”
“With your girlfriend?”
“No,” he told her. Partly because it was the truth and partly because it would get her off his back.
“Lynx…” She took a step closer. “I really am sorry about … what happened. I was wrong. I shouldn’t have … done what I did.”
“What? Fuck some guy in the bed of my fucking truck?” Lynx took a breath. “Or are you sorry for lyin’ to me about bein’ pregnant?”
Her gaze dropped to the ground.
Lynx took a breath, let it out roughly. “It’s done, Tammy. Over. I’m not losin’ sleep over it, so you shouldn’t, either.”
He heard the door open behind him, then glanced over his shoulder to see Reagan leaning against the doorjamb. She was smiling, but the action didn’t reach her eyes. This was the very reason she was keeping him at arm’s length, and Tammy showing up wasn’t going to help matters.
“I have shit to do,” he finally told Tammy. “Seriously.”
His phone chose that moment to ring. Lynx tugged it from his pocket and glanced at the screen.
“What’s up?” he greeted Wolfe, turning his back on Tammy.
“Travis and Gage are on their way here and they want to meet us at the diner in a few. They’re bringin’ a lawyer with them.”
“A lawyer?” Lynx frowned.
“Yeah. And this lawyer…” Wolfe chuckled. “I think she’s gonna be the key to bringin’ this bastard to his knees.”
“That so?” Lynx wasn’t sure how a lawyer was going to do that, but hey, he didn’t care how it happened. Just as long as it happened.
And the sooner the fucking better.
“Yeah,” he told Wolfe. “Reagan and I’ll be there in a few.”
“Thanks.”
The call disconnected and Lynx met Reagan’s eyes. She still didn’t look amused, but he couldn’t very well blame her.
“That’s … Reagan?”
Lynx closed his eyes momentarily.
“The girl who owns the bar?”
He didn’t respond.
“The one whose name is…”
“You need to go, Tammy,” he snapped, his eyes still locked with Reagan’s.
She didn’t say anything more, but he heard the shift of her feet as she moved. He didn’t know if she was coming closer or actually leaving, but he couldn’t move, couldn’t look away from Reagan.
Seeing her standing there in the doorway of his house…
Every possessive instinct in his entire body roared to life. She was right where he wanted her to be, but he could tell by her expression she didn’t care to be there.
To his relief, a car started behind him, then the sound of tires moved down the gravel path.
He waited, still not moving.
“Is she gone?” he asked Reagan.
She nodded.
He took one step, then another. He moved up the stairs to the house, and Reagan remained right there, not moving.
“Your girlfriend?” she asked, her eyes rolling slightly.
Unable to resist, Lynx stepped right into her personal space and put his hands on her hips. She tilted her head back, keeping her eyes on his face.
“Yeah,” he whispered.
“I’m not—”
He shut her up by crushing his mouth to hers, thrusting his tongue past her lips when she gasped in surprise. Without hesitation, Reagan kissed him back, and he knew right then, without a doubt, this woman belonged to him. Now and forever.
And if it meant turning the town upside down to prove that to her…
Goddamn, he was up for that challenge, too.
Reluctantly, Lynx pulled back. It wasn’t easy, considering he wanted to pick her up and carry her back to his bed, only this time he’d be there with her and she’d be naked beneath him, her thighs cradling his hips while he…
Yeah. Not fucking helping.
“We have to go to the diner,” he whispered, his voice rougher than usual.
“For?” He liked that she was as breathless as he was.
Taking a deep breath, he stood tall and stared down at her. “Wolfe called. We have to meet Travis and Gage. Apparently they’re bringin’ a lawyer.”
“A lawyer?”
He shrugged one shoulder. “Yeah. I have no idea, but he wants us there.”
She nodded. “I’m ready.”
“We gotta take Cope over to the store first.”
Another nod.
Lynx didn’t want to move from there, but he knew he had to. They had shit to do, and as much as he wanted her, the incident with Tammy was still fresh in Reagan’s mind, and he knew she wasn’t ready for what he wanted.
And no matter what, Lynx wasn’t about to take the next step until she trusted him completely.
For that to happen, he had to prove himself.
Which he would do.
A million times over if that was what it took.
16
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Reagan sat between her brother and Lynx at a group of tables they’d pulled together to accommodate the large number of people who had arrived at the diner to chat about… Honestly, she wasn’t sure what this meeting was about, but she knew one thing. She didn’t want to be here.