"What took you so long?" Jewell asked when he stepped into the shower.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a male figure enter the bathroom. As Jewell's eyes went over his shoulder, seeing Moon, she started shaking under the warm water.

Lucky gave her a menacing smile. "Ready to play?"

Chapter 8.

Willa held Chrissy and Caroline's hands tightly as she walked across the gym floor, showing them the booths that had been set up for October Fest. Winter had done a fantastic job of transforming the large s.p.a.ce in her fundraising efforts for the alternative school.

"Can I go with my friends?" Charlie asked from where he had been trailing behind them.

She let go of Caroline's hand long enough to reach into her purse and hand Charlie some money.

"Don't leave the gym," she cautioned.

"I won't," Charlie said before running off to join the two boys waiting at the next booth.

Willa reached down to take Caroline's hand again, only to find the little girl had disappeared.

"Oh, G.o.d..." Frantically, she looked around, searching for a small figure wearing the bright orange shirt she had helped her put on before leaving the house.

"Caroline!" Willa yelled, her voice smothered in the noise from the crowded gym.

She moved forward, panicking when she didn't immediately find her. Chrissy started whimpering at being tugged along, so Willa stopped and picked her up.

"It's okay. We're going to find her."

Chrissy nodded her head, placing her hand on Willa's shoulder.

"Caroline!" Chrissy pointed in a direction that was blocked by a large group of people.

Trusting that Chrissy had seen her sister, Willa went in the direction she was pointing. She was jostled several times as she tried to squeeze past and accidently knocked a plastic cup out of a man's hand as he was served at one of the booths.

"Excuse me."

Curt Dawkins lowered his angry eyes to his wet pants then shuttered them before lifting them. Willa noticed how quickly he was able to hide his irritated reaction.

"That's all right. Next time, try to be more careful, or you could hurt someone. It's a shame you never played football. You could have taken out half the opposing team." Willa listened to his snide comment as he placed a charming expression on his face. No one looking on would know how cruelly he had just insulted her.

Willa held Chrissy tighter to her as his eyes roved sleazily over her body.

"Send me the cleaning bill, and I'll take care of it." Willa attempted to move away, desperate to escape his venomous presence, only to b.u.mp into someone pa.s.sing behind her.

Curt grabbed her arm, pulling her nearer to him. "Watch out."

Willa's eyes widened when she saw it was Lucky and Rider she had nearly b.u.mped into. As both men came to a stop, Willa tried to hide her fear of the man who hadn't released her arm and was now pressed like a leech to her backside. She wanted to heave when she felt his p.e.n.i.s hardening against her b.u.t.t.

"Hi, Willa."

"Hi, Rider," she greeted before she reluctantly acknowledged the man standing quietly. "Lucky." Jerking her arm away from Curt's tight grip that she was sure would leave a bruise, she tried to step around Lucky and Rider. "I need to find Caroline. I'm afraid she managed to escape from me."

Willa didn't slow down, trying to put as much distance between her and Curt as possible. Why was it every overbearing person in Treepoint tried to overpower her? Did she have a freaking sign on her back that told them she was a coward?

"Let us help you find her," Rider offered.

"That's not necessary. I have it under control," Willa said without turning around.

"That's not what it seems like to me."

She ignore Lucky's snide comment, blinking away frustrated tears. Why did she have to always make a fool of herself in front of him?

Willa released a sigh of relief when she saw Winter with Caroline as they walked in a circle while music played. As the melody came to a stop, the two stood on the last available circle, winning the cake walk.

Winter laughed, picking Caroline up and tossing her into the air. "You're my good luck charm."

The girl squealed in laughter when Winter caught her.

"Thank G.o.d you found her. I was worried sick."

Winter took the cake she had won. "Caroline's been helping me win one of your cakes."

"Thank you, Winter."

"I'm going to share my winnings with my partner." Winter gave Caroline a wink.

"I don't think she deserves it for leaving my side." Seeing that Winter was about to protest, she relented. "I have several cupcakes at home. I'll give her one of those. You keep the cake for yourself and Viper."

"I'll take you up on that. I'll be lucky to save Viper a slice when the other members find out I won it. All the men tried to win it as soon as they saw it was chocolate on chocolate."

"Would you like me to hold it for you?" Rider asked, greedily eyeing the cake.

"Over my dead body." Winter pulled the cake closer to her. "I'm going to lock this beauty away in my office until I'm ready to go home. Want to help me, Caroline?" Winter held her hand out, and the girl took it. "I'll keep her with me and let her play a few games if that's all right, Willa?"

"Are you sure? She can be a handful," Willa warned.

"I deal with The Last Riders every day. Caroline will be a breeze compared to them." Winter moved away with Caroline obediently walking beside her. Willa wished she handled her as easily.

Winter bent to place Chrissy on her feet. Straightening, she saw both Lucky and Rider gaping at her. Glancing down, she turned bright red at seeing her top b.u.t.ton had come loose when she had been carrying the child. When she had leaned over, she had flashed the men a generous view of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s.

Clutching Chrissy's hand in one of hers, she tried to b.u.t.ton her top with her other hand.

"Where are the other three tonight?" Lucky's hoa.r.s.e voice had her taking an involuntary step backward.

"Charlie is with his friends at one of the booths, and Leanne and Sissy are both at home. They said they were too old for school carnivals."

"Neither volunteered to help you with their cousins?"

"You know teenagers ..." Willa began to defend the two older girls.

"Yes, I do, and they'll take advantage if you let them." Lucky's eyes were still pinned to her trembling fingers trying to b.u.t.ton her blouse.

"I wanted to give them some free time." His nerve-wracking observation of her fumbling attempts made her even clumsier.

"Exactly when was the last time you had any?" He took a step forward, brushing her hand away then fastening the b.u.t.ton for her.

Her mind went blank as she stared into his hazel eyes. "Wh-What?"

"Free time?" This time, a small smile played on his sensuous lips.

"Oh." Reason gradually returned when Lucky reached down, picking up Chrissy and placing her in Rider's surprised arms.

"Keep her occupied. We'll be back in an hour," Lucky told Rider before taking Willa's arm.

"Wait. I can't just leave her with him."

"Why not? He'll take good care of her." Lucky hustled her through the crowd toward one of the booths.

Willa stared down at the rubber ducks going in a circle of water, dumbfounded at Lucky planning to spend an hour with her. She had never managed to be in his presence for five minutes without feeling awkward. An hour would be torture.

Lucky handed the girl behind the table a dollar. "Pick one." He motioned at the innocuous yellow ducks.

"Why?" Willa asked in confusion.

"For fun. Do you even know what fun is?"

"Yes, I do." Willa pretended to be fascinated by the ducks going in a slow circle, hurt by his comment. "For your information, you being rude to me is not fun."

She reached out, picking up one of the ducks and handing it to the girl who reached into a box and pulled out a string of brightly colored beads. Before she could take them, Lucky did then lifted them over her head, and they nestled in the cleft between her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. He reached out, taking the beads in his hand, his knuckles resting against the flesh of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. Her breathing escalated at his intimate touch, so she tried to move away yet was held in place by the necklace until she felt it biting into the back of her neck.

Her nipples hardened as she tried to calm her breathing and pretend to be unaffected. His eyes moved to her side before returning to hers. Willa turned to see what had caught his attention and saw the biker who had been with Lucky and Rider the night she had picked Sissy up at the sheriff's office. The stranger had two black eyes and looked frightening with the determined expression on his face. Before she could try to move away from Lucky again, he released the necklace then steered her toward a photo booth tucked against the wall.

He raised the curtain, propelling her forward before stepping inside with her.

"I don't want my picture taken," Willa protested.

A hand on her shoulder had her taking a seat as Lucky put a dollar into the slot. As soon as the whirling motor sucked the dollar inside, Lucky sat down next to her on the small seat. Embarra.s.sed, she tried ineffectively to scoot over, only to find herself pinned between the wall and Lucky's imposing body. She noticed his T-shirt was short-sleeved, and his large biceps were highlighted by the tattoos covering his arms.

When his hand covered her throat, turning her to face him, Willa froze for a split-second before her survival instincts screamed at her that he was about to kiss her. Putting her hands on his chest, she tried to place some s.p.a.ce between them. A kiss from Lucky was something she had never expected to experience, and she was pretty darn sure it would be more than she could handle.

"Have you been kissed before?" His low voice had her trying to wiggle away from him, but his body merely leaned closer until her b.r.e.a.s.t.s were flattened against his chest with her hands caught between them.

"Of course." She tried to turn her face away but Lucky gripped her chin, denying her a chance to avoid the deepening intimacy that he was weaving between them.

His mouth moved closer until she felt his lips brush hers when he talked. "Who?"

"None of your d.a.m.n business," Willa said defiantly. There was no way she was going to tell him it was Lewis who had managed to kiss her in high school. It had been a terrifying moment which she'd had nightmares about for several months afterward.

The tip of his tongue traced her bottom lip.

"Don't, Lucky," Willa pleaded, seeing the flash of the camera.

"Why not? Don't you want a taste? I want to taste yours," he groaned. "I want to see if it's as sweet as your frosting." His mouth pressed harder against hers, parting her lips that she tried to keep closed, and her nails pressed into his flesh.

"You taste like vanilla," he murmured.

"Please, Lucky..."

"What do you want, Willa? Do you want me to stop?"

Willa saw the flash go off again, and her head fell back against the wall of the booth. She'd had every intention of stopping him; instead, she had lost all control when Lucky deepened the kiss, driving all caution from her mind.

"Please ... don't," she breathed into his mouth.

"Didn't I tell you there isn't anything redeemable about me?" He caught her lips again, exploring her mouth with his tongue as she went limp against him, letting him take what he wanted from her, guiltily aware she wanted it also. However, she wasn't brave enough to give in to the desire he was wringing from her tense body.

Willa saw another flash across her closed eyes before Lucky tore his lips from hers and pressed his thumb down on the pounding pulse at the base of her throat. Then he gave her a hard look before standing abruptly, leaving her alone in the photo booth.

Willa gathered her composure, straightening her blouse before pushing back the curtain and stepping outside. Although Lucky was thankfully nowhere to be seen, Rachel and Cash both gave her curious looks as they approached the photo booth.

Willa wanted to press her palms against her flushed cheeks, but she forced herself to keep her hands to her side.

"Having fun?" she asked the couple.

"Yes, Cash is still b.u.mmed out about losing the cake walk, but I promised him a few of your cupcakes the next time I tutor Sissy." Rachel gave her a mischievous grin.

"That works for me." Willa spoke to the couple for several minutes before excusing herself, going in search of Rider.

She found him sitting on the bleachers, watching the little girl eat a candy apple warily. He couldn't hide his relief when he saw her.

"Thanks, Rider. I appreciate you watching her for me."

"It's cool. I babysit for Beth and Lily occasionally. Not often," he hastened to add, "but enough to take care of them for about an hour. I always shove food in their faces."

"That always worked on me," Willa joked.

Rider's eyes turned frosty. "Why do you always put yourself down?"

Willa shrugged. "Rider, it's pretty obvious I like food."

"I like it, too, but I don't put myself down because I do."

Willa surveyed his muscular body. "There's a big difference between your body and mine." Willa couldn't keep the amus.e.m.e.nt out of her voice. She liked Rider. He was sweet and uncomplicated.