he couldn't wait to plow his fist into the bastard's face.

"get your hand off her, jack, or i'll break it so you never draw another goddamn thing."

macie looked up at him, horrified. "carter?"

"stay out of this, macie. this is between jack, and me."

"but-"

"turn around, coward. i won't sucker punch you, like you sucker punched me.

"cause i wanna see teeth fly when i belt you in the mouth for tryin' to steal my girl."

jack eased the stool around slowly.

carter braced himself and cocked his fist.

but the man facing him wasn't jack donohue. it was his brother colby's friend, trevor glanzer.

"trevor? what the hell are you doin' here?"

"plannin' on kickin' your butt as soon as i finish my pie. what is wrong with you, carter? it ain't like you to pick fights."

carter ignored the question and glanced at macie. "where's jack?"

"how should i know? he's your friend."

"because last night..." damn. could he be wrong? could he really be that paranoid?

yes, when it came to macie all rationality vanished.

because he loved her.

wildly.

out-of-his-freakin'-mind-all-or-nothing-kind-of-love.

without taking his gaze from macie, carter said, "trevor. step outside for a minute."

trevor mumbled something and slipped out the door.

"please fill in the fuzzy details."

macie's eyes narrowed. "after you passed out, jack passed on the real reason you'd asked him here, and i passed on being any part of it."

"really?"

"no. i went wahoo! and screwed his brains out while you were sacked out in the lawn chair."

the feeling of relief nearly buckled his knees. "so you didn't, i mean, you don't want that?"

"a menage? i was kidding about multiple cowboys, carter."

"you were?"

"that's not something i'm interested in trying at this point in my life." those all-knowing hazel eyes clouded. "hey. did you just call me your girl?"

"yes, you are my girl." my everything.

"i am not a girl, carter mckay."

"girl, woman, whatever, you're mine and i was ready to kill my best friend for makin' a move on you."

"he didn't."

"lucky for him." carter stalked her, until her back was against the cement wall.

"kiss me and make me all better, darlin'. your sweet, hot kisses heal my damn foolish pride."

macie whispered, "you are such a dumbass," and lifted her lips to his for the sweetest kiss on the planet.

when carter could feel his heart beating again, he picked macie up and threw her over his shoulder. he yelled, "velma? macie's takin' a sick day. she's feelin' a mite poorly."

velma poked her head through the doorway and grinned. "that's fine. just make sure she's here tomorrow."

"she'll be here bright and early with bells on."

she sighed. "definitely better than dinner theater."

as carter carted macie outside, she said, "trevor? umm. tell my dad i won't be home tonight."

"all night," carter added and tossed her in his truck.

macie expected carter to play grab-ass with her on the way to his place. but he was strangely subdued. he parked and looked at her.

"stay here until i come getcha, okay?"

she nodded. after ten minutes passed, she couldn't stand waiting any longer. she snuck inside the darkened trailer and heard him thumping around in his bedroom.

"carter?"

"i thought i told you-"

"yeah, i know. i don't listen very well." macie paused in the doorway and watched him wrestling with a set of silky peach-colored sheets. which, by the looks of it, were a size too small, which was probably the reason they wouldn't fit on the bed. "what are you doing?"

"screwing this up, apparently." disgusted, he tossed the sheets aside. "i wanted it to be perfect." a sound, half sigh/half laugh, rumbled from his chest. he scrubbed his hands over the stubble on his face. "but there ain't moonlight, hell, it ain't even night. i don't have candles, or soft music, unless you count faith hill. no flowers. or champagne. now i can't even get the damn sheets on the bed. and to top it off, i have wicked hangover.

some romantic setting, huh?"

"why are you setting a scene? i don't need all that for you to seduce me."

carter looked at her. her breath stalled in her lungs. those blue, blue eyes held everything she'd ever wanted and he was looking at her. offering it to her.

"it's not about seduction. it's about love. i love you, macie. really, really love you and i've never said that to another girl-woman-in my whole life. and i wanted it to be perfect when i told you-"

his words were cut off when she launched herself at him and kissed him. when carter realized she was crying, he pulled back.

"hey. what's this?"

macie couldn't answer. she buried her face in his neck and sobbed. he hugged her tightly until she calmed down. she finally looked up at him. "i really, really love you too, carter, and i've never said that to anyone either."

"i could be a gentleman and tell you that you didn't have to say it back to me just

'cause i said it first." he grinned. "but we both know i ain't really a gentleman and hot damn, am i ever glad to hear it."

"so what happens now?" do we ride off into the sunset together? start picking out china patterns?

romantic nonsense, macie blue.

"we'll figure it out as we go." carter pushed her on the bed and she squealed at the wicked, sweet, hot look of forever in his eyes. "for now, we've got a free afternoon and a whole box of condoms. that's as good as any place to start."

chapter thirty-four

"he's here for what?" gemma knew her voice was a shade shy of hysterical.

cash gazed at her coolly. "you don't have to pretend with me, gem, i know you.

heck, you told me you were interested in tryin' it just earlier this week."

"we were in bed! that doesn't count."

"which is why it does count. plus, i overheard you last summer, talkin' with channing 'bout it, and how long your curiosity has been piqued. trevor is here to satisfy it."

"trevor. you asked trevor if he wanted to be part of a threesome? with me? and you?" gemma shook her head, even as her blood raced. "cash, why would you do that?"

"because you want it. and i want to give you something he never did."

he. meaning her late husband, steve.

was this really happening? she and steve talked about a threesome in vague generalities throughout their marriage, more along the lines of...a fantasy fuck. gemma had a thing for country singer chris ledoux and steve teased her that if the opportunity arose, he'd watch chris doin' her, then he'd join in. around that time in the conversation, steve would explicitly detail what it'd be like to see another man sliding his cock up gemma's ass while he fucked her pussy. it made them both hot. then they'd head to bed, screw, and laugh it off afterward.

except...gemma had always wondered what it'd feel like to have two sets of male hands on her. two men's mouths kissing, licking, and teasing her hot spots. two cocks filling her holes in a variety of ways. her softer body sandwiched between strong, muscular, passionate masculine ones as they penetrated her. as they focused solely on her sexual pleasure.

she'd never been dissatisfied in her sexual life with steve. after he'd died, her sex drive died too. she couldn't get beyond the grief to think about one man touching her, let alone two men.

now that she'd moved on, cash more than satisfied her sexual desires; he understood them. which is why he'd gone to so much trouble to set this up. what might seem like bizarre, scandalous behavior to others was actually incredibly...sweet. a loving gesture from a man she suspected hadn't taken a lot of chances in his life to showcase his sweet, thoughtful side.

but cash also realized in order for her to enjoy this fantasy, she'd have to be comfortable with the third player. he'd have to be a man she knew-and was attracted to.

trevor glanzer fit the bill, a good-looking cowboy who'd literally been trying to charm the pants off her for two years. the fact trevor traveled here, willing to make both she and cash happy, if only for one night, appealed to the wild woman in her. she'd been too scared to take the opportunity when it'd been offered to her in her younger years.

well, she was older and wiser. no way was she letting the chance pass her by again.

a delicious shiver of anticipation rolled through her.

"okay. but three things first."

"yeah?"

"no blindfold. leave your hair unbraided. and the lights stay on."

a slow, sexy smile lit up cash's face. "whatever you want, gem, tonight is for you.

trevor and i will be right back."

"carter?"

he softly kissed macie's lips and tucked the covers under her chin. "ssh. it's okay."

"where are you going?"

"out to the barn to work. i can't seem to get to sleep." he brushed his mouth over her forehead. "sorry to wake you. go back to sleep. you won't even know i'm gone."

"mmm. okay. love you."

carter's heart nearly burst out of his chest. "love you too, darlin'."

he whistled as he headed outside. he knew exactly what his paintings had been missing these last few weeks. risky, but he'd toss the whole works he'd already done and start over.