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Cammie ran the brush through her hair for the twentieth time, butterflies going crazy in her stomach as she checked herself over in the bathroom mirror, making sure there wasn’t anything amiss anywhere. Lucky would arrive soon for their first real date.
She’d been afraid all day that he would call and cancel on her, saying he’d agreed while intoxicated and had later come to his senses. He called while she was at the diner, and her hand had shaken so badly while answering the phone, she’d nearly dropped it. He hadn’t canceled, though; he’d asked her favorite color and confirmed he would be at her place at seven.
Determining she was as polished as she was going to get, Cammie reentered the kitchen and opened the oven to check on the steaks. Assured those were fine, she stirred the green beans simmering on the stove and peeked in the refrigerator to make sure the dessert had set. With everything in order, she took a deep, calming breath.
Then the doorbell rang and the butterflies in her stomach whipped themselves into an even bigger frenzy.
She smoothed her hair with her hands and snatched a quick glance in the hallway mirror as she made her way to the front door. She didn’t want to be overdressed for the simple date, which consisted of a rented movie and a homemade dinner, so she’d chosen jeans and a fitted white T-shirt with DOLLYWOOD emblazoned across the chest in shiny silver studs.
Cammie wiped her sweaty palm on her pant leg, took a deep breath, and opened the door to see the handsomest man in Cook County standing on her porch wearing jeans, battered brown boots, and a freshly pressed white polo shirt. Her mouth fell open as she saw what he held out to her in his hand.
“Where on earth did you find blue roses?”
“Not in Cook County,” he grumbled, but the tilt at the corner of his mouth showed he hadn’t minded finding the rare beauties for her. “You said blue was your favorite color, and I’ve been told there’s not a woman alive who doesn’t love roses, so... I found some.”
“Come on in.” She gestured for him to enter before closing the door and taking the flowers out of his hand. “I’ve never seen roses so beautiful.”
Cammie guided Lucky into the kitchen, where she put the roses into a glass vase and set them on the counter to admire. “Are they dyed?”
“No, that’s the real color.” Lucky pointed to the bottom of one stem, where a knobby little bud poked out. “The florist said this one right here might make it if you planted it.”
“Really?” Cammie peered closer, excited. “I could have a whole bush of these in my yard?”
“Of course you can.” He smiled. “Tell you what, honey, if this one doesn’t grow for you, I’ll drive back to Greenbrier and get you some with roots.”
“Greenbrier?” Cammie gawked. “You drove all the way to Greenbrier and back just to get roses in my favorite color?”
He shrugged, eyes downcast with shame. “I owed you something beautiful after such an ugly first time.”
“It wasn’t ugly,” Cammie said softly, hoping to ease the guilt she could feel emitting from Lucky. “I love the roses. I’ve never been given anything so sweet and so unique.”
“Neither have I,” Lucky replied.
Cammie turned her face away, suddenly bashful, and her gaze fell on the stove. “Oh, shoot.”
She quickly crossed over to the stove and stirred the green beans before checking on the steaks. “Looks done. Ready for dinner?”
“Sure am,” Lucky answered as he set the DVD he’d been holding in his hand on the counter and grabbed plates from the hutch. “I’ll set the table.”
“Thanks.” She eyed the DVD case as she removed the steaks from the oven, hoping he hadn’t selected something with raunchy sex scenes in it. She’d feel too embarrassed watching a movie like that with him. “What movie did you get?”
“Rebel Without a Cause,” he answered sheepishly. “I know it’s older than dirt, but I’ve always liked the classics. You seem like the type of woman who would appreciate them too. Maybe I should have gotten Nine To Five,” he added, glancing down at her shirt.
Cammie smiled. “No, I love James Dean and Rebel Without a Cause is one of my favorites. I’m going to love watching it with you.”
“Yeah, so am I,” he commented warmly as he helped her bring the food to the table.
****
SHE TASTED LIKE WISHES and promises with just a dash of Heaven thrown in for good measure. The movie had ended some time ago, but neither had chosen to stop the tongue-dueling that had started about midway through.
At some point, they’d ended up horizontal, stretched out on the soft, ivory leather couch, Lucky’s lower half nestled in the cradle of Cammie’s hips, bodies perfectly aligned to do what came naturally.
Down, boy. Tonight is about respect. This woman deserves the real deal.
Damn, but she smelled so good, and tasted even better.
She raised her hips, grinding against his erection, and he moaned from the sweet agony of it. “Sugar, you make being good too damn hard,” he whispered against her lips as she trailed her hands over his spine, having slid them beneath his shirt a while ago.
“You know all about hard,” she whispered back with an impish giggle as she wiggled her hips, tormenting him further.
“You’re playing with fire now,” he warned. “I’m trying to be a gentleman.”
“Be a gentleman tomorrow,” she pouted, and bit his earlobe. “Ravish me tonight.”
Oh, hell. Lucky rose to his knees, needing to distance his body from hers for a moment, to get the blood flowing back to his brain. “Our last time wasn’t what it should have been, honey. I don’t want the same thing with you I’ve had with other women. You deserve more than that.”
She sat up, a devilish gleam in her eye as she grabbed his face with both hands and pulled him down for a slow, tantalizing kiss that short-circuited every brain cell he had before pulling back.
“Then shut the hell up, cowboy, and make love to me like you’ve never made love to any woman before.”
Shit. “Well, I suppose it would be rude of me to deny the lady’s request,” he drawled, hoping he wouldn’t regret this, hoping more that she wouldn’t regret this.
He stood from the couch and helped her up, growing harder as he watched her chest heave beneath her shirt. He couldn’t wait to remove the clothes and watch her breathe heavily in nothing at all.
She winced as she stood, and her hand quickly went to her thigh.
“You okay?” Lucky gripped her waist as she bent over.
“Yeah,” she said uneasily as she flexed her foot and slowly straightened. “I must have stepped on something.”
“Be careful, honey. Can’t have anything happening to you,” he said as he scooped her up. “How’s this? Make sure you make it safely to bed.”
She laughed. “I can make it there safely, all right, but I bet I’m in for it when I get there.”
Lucky chuckled along with her as she directed him to her bedroom. He set her down easily before him and kissed her deeply before they started tearing at each other’s clothes. Leaving the discarded garments wherever they landed, they fell onto the floral comforter covering her bed. Lucky was careful not to crush her small frame beneath his full weight. “You sure about this?”
“So sure,” she whispered as she gripped his hips and urged him into position. “I want to wake up to you right here in the morning, Lucky Masters.”
“There’s no place I’d rather be,” he answered honestly, giving up on the whole white knight idea. He was no knight, no Prince Charming. But he would take care of this woman and do his damnedest to see that she never hurt.
First, he was going to grab a condom out of his wallet, and second, he was going to give her the night of sweet, gentle lovemaking she should have had her first time. Then he was going to hold on to her all night long... maybe even longer.
****
CAMMIE’S EYES FLUTTERED as she slowly came awake, thanks to the ray of sunlight slipping through the blind and shining straight into her face. She stretched out her limbs, gasping as red-hot pain burst from her ankle to shoot straight up her leg.
“Morning, baby,” Lucky’s thick morning drawl brushed over her ear as his arms came around her waist from behind.
She blinked back tears as his soft lips tickled her shoulder and started on a trail that went down her arm before dropping to her waist and thigh. She couldn’t let on that she was in pain. It was too early for him to know about her illness. Cammie held her breath as he slid lower under the covers, kissing her hot flesh. She glanced at her arms, thankful there were no red bumps or lines. No telltale signs. She only had to ignore the pain in her ankles and he wouldn’t know anything.
As he slowly made his way lower, her skin stung where he planted his kisses. She bit her lower lip as tears burned her eyes.
Suddenly, Lucky stiffened and muttered a curse before sitting up, his eyes wide as he pulled the cover off of her.
“What the hell, baby? What’s wrong with you?”
Cammie looked down at her body and saw what had scared him. Her right ankle had swollen to twice its size.