Chasin' Eight: Rough Riders, Book 12 (8 page)

Jesus. Where had that come from?

The booze, probably.

Ironic, they’d been talking about alcohol-fueled mistakes. No way would Chase let his whisky throw-down with her become an excuse to take her to bed.

Besides, Ava Cooper, TV star, was out of his league. Way out. The rich girl bombshell wouldn’t have looked at him twice if they hadn’t accidentally ended up hiding out at the same place. Plus, her feminine pride and sexual self-esteem had taken a blow because of her asshole gay ex-boyfriend, so naturally she wanted to prove her sex appeal to a man. Any man. He just happened to be convenient.

Chase didn’t like being convenient.

“Hey, cowboy, are you ignoring me because I’m drunk?” Ava clapped a hand over her mouth and giggled.

“I think we oughta call it a night, Hollywood.”

“Fine by me.” She stood. Swayed. And would’ve hit the floor if Chase had slower reflexes.

“Whoa, there. Not so fast.”

She inhaled deeply. Exhaled gustily. “You know today when you said I smelled great? Well, I’ll bet you smell great all over too.” She nuzzled the side of his head.

“Stop sniffing me. It tickles.”

“Where else are you ticklish?”

“My feet.”

Ava frowned. “Lie. I’ll bet you’re most ticklish behind your balls. I bet I can prove it.”

You’re on. Let’s test your theory right now.

No. No. No. No.

“Ah, Ava, we’re not playing the game anymore.”

“Oh. Shoot. Everything is spinning anyway. I just really need to go to sleep now. Nighty night.” She started down the hallway, stripping clothes as she bounced from wall to wall like a slow-moving pinball.

The seven—or was it eight?—shots hit him full force. The hallway became a tunnel-like funhouse mirror. Distorted. Sideways. He stretched his arms into a T and put one wobbly foot in front of the other.

He had to stop and grip the doorframe leading to the bedroom when he saw Ava sprawled face first on the mattress.
Would you lookit that.
He might be drunk, but he wasn’t fuckin’ blind.

The sweetest, tightest, most delectable ass he’d ever seen—and he’d seen more than his fair share of nice asses—just begging to be caressed. Kissed. Squeezing those perfectly round globes as he hiked her hips up and slid his cock inside her.

As he took another step, he tripped over a shoe, or his own damn feet, and went skidding across the carpet. The room spun as he rolled to his back, blinking at the ceiling.

The bed jiggled. Soft, fragrant strands of hair teased his chest and then an angel’s face was suspended above him.

“Cowboy? You all right?”

“Uh. Yeah.”

“Do you need help getting up?”

“No. I never need help getting it up. That’s my problem.” He laughed. Hard. No idea why because it wasn’t particularly funny, but Ava must’ve seen the humor because she busted a gut right along with him. After wiping the tears from his blurred vision, he mumbled, “I’m actually pretty comfy. I might just crash here tonight.”

“No. Come up on the bed. There’s room.”

Chase rolled to his knees. Clambered on the bed. The last thing he remembered before he passed out was Ava slurring, “Pillow fight!”

Chapter Six

“What in the hell is goin’ on here?”

Ava didn’t recognize the voice, the loud voice, reverberating in her skull like a jackhammer. She shifted on the mattress and felt the warm weight of something on her butt.

Turning her head required effort, but somehow she managed and found herself staring into Chase McKay’s handsome face. Wait a second. How had she ended up in bed with the sexy cowboy? When he’d reiterated that he wouldn’t sleep with her?

“Earth to Ava,” a feminine voice trilled.

Now that voice she recognized. Ginger.

Ava reached down and removed Chase’s hand from her ass and rolled onto her back. Bright sunlight from the window stabbed her retinas and she groaned.

Chase stirred. His leg repeatedly rubbed against hers, sending goose bumps dancing up her thighs.

“Chase. We have company.”

“Get rid of ’em. Christ, I have a headache.”

She poked him in the ribs until he turned over.

Kane was crouched by the bed, looking slightly amused. “Serves you right, Chase, for drinkin’ all my goddamned whisky.”

Chase jackknifed, and his hands flew up to cradle his head. “Ow. Fuck. Yell in my ear again, cuz, and I’ll give the whisky right back to you in another form.”

Kane laughed.

“So you’ve been here a day and you’re already sleeping together?”

Ava finally looked at Ginger. “No.”

Ginger arched an eyebrow.

“I know what it looks like. But Chase and I are just friends. Right, McKay?”

“Yeah, but you and me ain’t never drinkin’ together again.”

Her answering laugh sent a spike of pain to her brain.

Chase scooted back to rest against the headboard and glared at Kane and Ginger. “Woulda been nice if you’d told us that we’d be roommates. Teenage Ninja Turtle over there almost killed me.”

“Oh please.” Ava yanked the sheet to her waist as she sat up. “Like it wasn’t ten kinds of scary for a city girl to be out in the middle of nowhere, woken up in the dead of night by a half-naked guy wearing a big hat and carrying a duffle bag that has ropes in it.”

“I sure as shootin’ didn’t have on my cowboy hat when I was headed for bed.”

“That’s not how I saw it.”

“I don’t know how you saw
anything
since your eyes were half-covered by a fancy piece of pink fluff.”

“I call bullshit on that. You’re just—”

Kane whistled shrilly and both Chase and Ava winced. “Enough. Don’t be blaming me or my wife, because we kept your secrets. We only realized this morning what’d happened, which is why we’re here.”

Ava looked at Chase. She didn’t like scruffy whiskers on men, but on him? A whole ’nother story. Gave him a harsher edge. Toned down his almost too-perfect good looks.

Why don’t you just write the man a fucking sonnet?

God. What was wrong with her? She never got moon-eyed over a guy. Never.

Chase frowned at her. “Why are you starin’ at me?”

Lie
. “You’ve got a serious case of bedhead.”

“You oughta talk. Your hair looks like you stuck your hand in a bug zapper,” he shot back.

She reached for the ponytail holder on the nightstand and began to twist her unruly hair into a messy bun. “Better?”

But Chase’s eyes weren’t on her makeshift hairdo. His gaze was firmly glued to her breasts shifting beneath the tight tank top. He swallowed hard. But he didn’t look away.

Aha. So the cowboy was a breast man. She’d live in cleavage-enhancing shirts if it’d make him rethink his “just friends” mindset.

“Maybe we oughta get dressed,” Chase suggested, staring at her nipples. “In long sleeves. It appears to be cold in here.”

Damn smartass man.

“Good idea,” Kane said. “We’ll be in the kitchen.”

She’d forgotten Ginger and Kane were in the room.

Chase set his feet on the floor and scooped up his clothes. He muttered, “I don’t remember getting undressed.”

“Me either.”

He squinted at her over his shoulder. “I take less time in the bathroom so I’ll go first.”

“Fine.” Soon as she heard the bathroom door close, she jumped up. Ooh. Too fast. Made her woozy. She slipped on a pair of Capri-style yoga pants and her Santa Clara community college sweatshirt.

As she passed the bathroom, she paused. Her mouth tasted like ass. The shower was running and Chase probably wouldn’t notice if she just popped in and grabbed her toothbrush and toothpaste.

Ava turned the door handle. Unlocked. She slowly pushed the door open and came face-to-face with a completely nude Chase. Her eyes followed the dark line of hair—his treasure trail—stopping when she hit the mother lode. Wow. Chase was aroused. And well hung. Very well hung.

“Jesus, Hollywood. Do you not understand privacy at all?”

Rather than reminding him the door had a lock, she said, “I need my toothbrush.”

He stomped closer, which caused his dick to jump against his belly. “Get out.”

“God, Chase, relax. It’s just a penis. And here’s a newsflash for you. I’ve seen other penises, so it’s no big deal.”
Such a liar, Ava.

“It’s a big deal to me,” he snarled. “Get the fuck out of the bathroom and wait your turn.”

“Let me grab my toothbrush and toothpaste and I’ll go.”

“Get your eyes off my junk and you’ll see that I have your toothbrush and toothpaste in my hand.”

Oh shit. She raised her gaze only high enough to see, yes indeed, Chase was holding her oral hygiene supplies. She snatched them from him and exited the bathroom.

The door slammed behind her. She heard the lock click and some pretty choice swear words.

She stopped outside the kitchen upon seeing Kane and Ginger in a private moment. His lower back rested against the counter with the front of Ginger’s body pressed to his. He had one hand fisted in her hair as he kissed the side of her neck and he’d jammed his other hand in the back pocket of her jeans. Everything about the way they were entwined together screamed love, not just lovers.

Despite Ava’s joy that Ginger found a man who loved her so completely, Ava felt a smidgen of jealousy. Would she ever find that total love and acceptance for herself?

She cleared her throat and the couple parted.

Kane grinned unrepentantly. “I tend to get carried away when I have alone time with my beautiful wife.”

“I imagine,” she said distractedly, staring at the section of skin where Ginger’s blouse had slipped down. “Since when do you have a tattoo?”

Ginger’s fingers brushed her left shoulder. “I got it after the twins were born.”

“What is it?”

“The McKay brand.” Ginger rolled her eyes. “Oh, don’t look so appalled. It’s not a symbol of ownership. It’s become a tradition for the women who marry into the McKay family.”

“Who started the tradition?”

“Keely. When she was the only McKay girl. After she married Jack Donohue, she insisted that he, like the other spouses who married into the family, should be tattooed with the McKay brand. Jack refused—not surprising if you knew Jack—and insisted Keely tattoo
his
initials on her body, since she was no longer a McKay.”

“How’d that work out?”

“Keely had India put Jack’s initials below the pair of lips tattooed on her butt.” Kane shook his head. “And Jack thought once they were married she’d become docile. That girl is about as tame as a mountain lion.”

Ava grinned. “I knew I liked her. Now if you’ll step aside, I need to use the sink.”

Kane squinted at her.

“What?”

“It’s weird. Watchin’ you on TV you always look so much smaller. I forget how tall you are in person.”

“I look short on
Miller’s Ridge
because my costar, Alex Summers, is six foot six. He’s the first man who makes me look petite.”
But he’s not the first guy who made me feel small.

Dammit. No negativity today.

After she washed her face and brushed her teeth, Ava started a pot of coffee. A jolt of caffeine would lessen the pounding in her head. She stared out the window, lost in thought, and only roused herself when she heard Chase join Kane and Ginger’s conversation about other McKay family members.

Ginger sidled up next to her. “Sorry about the Chase mix- up.”

“It’s okay. I didn’t give you a choice. And I really do appreciate you guys letting me crash here.”

“Have you figured anything out?”

She gave Ginger a wry look. “Besides that I’m never drinking Maker’s Mark again?”

“Smartass.”

“Actually, I’m shooting things that interest me with my video camera. Don’t know what I’ll do with any of it, but that’s the whole point. Trying to figure some of this out. Who I am when I’m not in Hollywood. What I want to do when I go back, right?”

“Right. I hope you’re not factoring Chase into your plans for the time you’re here.” Ginger dropped her voice. “Chase is a great guy for the most part. A little too self-involved to the McKays’ liking. But they’re all so damn proud of him they’ll forgive his neglectful behavior. That said, Ava, do
not
get mixed-up with him. Woman trouble follows him everywhere and you don’t need that after what you’ve dealt with lately.”

“Is Kane giving Chase the same advice? Don't get mixed up with Ava because man trouble follows her everywhere?”

“Shit, Ava, I didn’t mean—”

“No need to worry because nothing is going on between us. I swear. We’re just friends. We had a blast hanging out yesterday. And to be honest, Chase understands better than anyone what I’ve gone through with the press since he’s gone through the same thing.”

Ginger seemed surprised by Ava’s observation. “I hadn’t thought of it that way.”

“That’s because you still see me as the clueless seventeen-year-old girl who stumbled into your law office by mistake.”

“That’s where you’re wrong.” Ginger bumped Ava with her hip. “While you’re contemplating life and your place in it…do something about that chip on your shoulder, eh?”

Ava laughed. But it felt forced, not that Ginger noticed. “So, tell me all about the McKay brood.”

Kane and Ginger were enamored with their offspring but clearly exhausted. Maddie’s temper was a testament to her red hair. Hayden had christened the corkscrew tufts on Maddie’s head her “mean curls” and lamented the fact Paul was a climber and constantly pulled the chess board to the floor. Since Ginger’s father lived with them, he was a big help to keeping some semblance of order in the house. But the way they described it, it sounded more like a zoo.

“Oh, before I forget, Ava, did you leave your car parked out front yesterday?”

Ava looked at Kane. “Only for about five minutes. Why?”

“Chase’s brother Ben passed by and wondered if someone was staying here. He called this morning, so I had to tell him you were in town, but to keep it quiet.” Kane looked at Chase when he opened his mouth. “I told them about Ava to cover
your
ass, cuz, so no complaints from you. But I suggest you keep your truck outta sight.” Kane stood and held his hand out to Ginger. “Come on, Red. I need your help checkin’ that gate before we head home.”