My Kind of Trouble by Becky McGraw Page A

"Jesus, Luke you take a vacation, but make sure you keep me
busy." He laughed and smiled widely then tipped his hat to Cassie.
"Hi, darlin'." She thought she heard a growl come from Luke
standing behind her to the left.
     
    She smiled her rodeo queen smile at Cole
then rushed down the steps to launch herself into his arms,
knocking his hat off in the process. Cole went back on his heels
and hugged her to him spinning her in a circle. "Now that's what
I'm talking about," he said then set her down and kissed her on the
cheek. "How's your daddy, sugar?"
     
    "He's getting along, but being in the bed is
making him itchy. I think Imelda might put a pillow over his head
and put us all out of his misery."
     
    "That's not something you should be telling
a deputy, darlin'." He chuckled and pinched her cheek.
    Cassie snorted. "She'd probably tell you
herself."
     
    "So, what's going on out here?"
     
    "Damned cowhand almost raped Cassie," Luke
barked.
     
    "Is that right, sugar?" Cole grabbed her by
the shoulders and looked deeply concerned.
     
    "Yeah, I was in the tack room and he
cornered me after Luke left."
     
    "Holy shit, where is the asshole?" He
released her and she saw his hand move to the butt of the mean
looking handgun on his belt. His eyes narrowed and his lips pinched
into a flat line.
     
    "Unconscious in the tack room. Luke beat the
shit out of him," Cassie said and snickered.
     
    Cole's eyebrows raised and then said
sarcastically, "Nah, Luke wouldn't do something like that. I'm sure
he just used enough force to restrain the ass-- suspect .
Isn't that right, Luke?"
     
    Luke grumbled then nodded. "Of course. He
resisted, so I didn't have a choice. Now lock the asshole up and
call Judge."
     
    Cole saluted him and then turned to walk
toward the barn and they all followed. Once inside the tack room,
Cole stopped and looked back over his shoulder at Luke. "Hog-tied,
Luke? Really?"
     
    Laughter rumbled up from his toes and then
Cole bent over when it consumed him. "Nice law enforcement
maneuver, Sheriff. They teach you that at the academy?" He howled
again and before long they were all laughing. Everyone except Luke.
His eyes were angry and his fists clenched at his side.
     
    "Cut the shit Cole and get him out of here
before I decide to finish the job," he told his deputy gruffly and
turned to walk out the door.
     
    Cassie grabbed his arm and stopped him.
"What's wrong Luke?"
     
    "Nothing," he said and shook off her hand.
"I'm going home."
     
    She followed him almost having to jog to
keep up with his fast movement toward his truck. "Wait,
Luke..."
     
    He didn't stop, but she finally caught up
with him when he opened the door to his truck and climbed inside.
She stepped up on the running board to stand between him and the
door then leaned inside and got right up in his pinched face. "What
the hell is wrong with you?"
     
    She saw a muscle working in his jaw, but he
didn't say anything. His knuckles were white where he was gripping
the steering wheel, staring out over the top of it. Cassie didn't
know what had put a burr under his saddle, but she knew she wasn't
letting him leave until she got it out. She leaned close to his ear
and whispered. "C'mon, baby, tell mama what's wrong," then moved
her hand to rub his thigh. She kissed his cheek then the corner of
his mouth, her hand moving a little higher on his thigh.
     
    Moving to his ear, she flicked out her
tongue and circled the lobe, then sucked it and released it. She
thought she heard him groan, and noticed that his breathing was
faster than it had been. A flush stained high up on his chiseled
cheekbones.
     
    "You're playing with fire, honey. Move so I
can leave."
     
    "What if I don't want to?" She nuzzled his
neck and put a butterfly kiss over the pulse pounding there. Her
head spun when he jerked her inside of the cab between his muscled
chest and the steering wheel right before his mouth slammed down
over hers in a kiss that sent her pulse from zero to sixty