The Chance of a Lifetime Read online

  “We won’t be finding this guy anytime soon, I’m afraid. There were no fingerprints and, due to the grass covering your backyard and the empty, grass-covered lot adjacent to your yard, we were unable to find any shoe prints.”

  Lacey did her best not to scream in frustration. Not knowing what else to do, she turned on her heel and walked from the room without a backward glance at the two men still happily seated at her kitchen table. They could let themselves out.

  * * * *

  Chance removed his leather gloves, then wiped his sweaty palms across the seat of his pants. Mucking stalls was dirty work but it kept his hands busy and gave him time to think.

  Of course, thinking might not be the best thing to do to pass the time, considering his brain kept taking him right back to having his face buried between Lacey’s thighs. And that mental vision led way to memories of how tight she’d been as his finger delved into the virgin tightness of her ass.

  “Son of a bitch!” Chance swore as he once again donned his gloves.

  “Boss.” Chance heard Rick Marshall, one of the ranch hands, call from a few stalls away. “Everything all right?”

  The amusement in Rick’s voice annoyed Chance to no end. It was a good thing for the ranch hand that he was more like one of the Bodines than an employee.

  “Just fine, dammit!” Chance muttered the words as he stalked from the newly cleaned stall. He dumped the last shovel full of soiled hay into the wheelbarrow, then headed out the fully opened stable doors and into the fresh air of the ranch yard.

  Chance continued to work, waiting as patiently as possible for the hours to pass. When the sun started to set over the horizon, he put away his equipment and headed home for a shower.

  Before entering, Chance removed his boots, leaving them on the back porch. His socks, jeans and shirt followed. After a long day of mucking stalls the last thing he wanted to do was clean house.

  In nothing more than his boxer briefs, Chance made his way through the house to the bathroom where he turned on the shower, adjusting the knob until the temperature was perfect.

  The glass doors of the shower were covered in steam in a matter of seconds. Before Chance could try and change his line of thought, a vision of Lacey popped into his head. She was standing in his shower with nothing more than fog-covered glass between her beautifully nude body and his eagerly aroused one.

  Her profile was graceful even with her petite stature. Head thrown back into the spray of the shower, her back arched seductively, showing off every curve of her compact frame.

  Chance reached out, groaning when reality hit and he was once again standing in his bathroom naked as the day he was born, daydreaming about a woman.

  “You’re going fucking nuts ‘ole boy.” Chance climbed into the shower, his body anything but relaxed, his cock at attention just as it always was when Lacey was in question.

  Might as well finish it off, Chance thought to himself with a bit of amusement. It didn’t take much to remember her taste or the sounds she made as he sucked and stroked her clit with lips and tongue.

  After wetting a washcloth, Chance set about cleansing himself of the effects left over from a day’s work on a ranch. Once finished, he leaned back against the cool tiled wall and took the heavy length of his cock into his palm.

  The mere thought of sinking deeply into Lacey’s wet and willing body made his shaft throb with need. Sliding his finger over the bulbous head, Chance closed his eyes and made believe it was Lacey who was teasing him, torturing him with her pink tongue.

  Chance’s body shuddered as he fisted his hand around the length of his cock and pumped slowly up and down. The hot water cascading over his back had yet to wash all the soap from his body, making the movement of his hand on his cock silky smooth, just as he imagined her mouth to be.

  He’d gently fist her blonde hair in one hand, encouraging her on while caressing the soft skin of her face with the other. In Chance’s mind, Lacey’s blue eyes were closed in concentration as she worked his length with her lips, stroking him with her tongue until Chance was sure he could hold out no longer.

  The feel of his wet palm against the heated flesh of his shaft was great but not nearly as arousing as the real thing would be. When his arousal peaked Chance pumped furiously while picturing Lacey on her knees in front of him.

  As his release became imminent, Chance could imagine her lips suctioning him, then swallowing every bit of his essence as it was milked from his body. She would be making those sexy purring noises that always seemed to turn him on. And even as she licked him clean, she’d be fingering herself to orgasm for his eyes only. That single thought was what pushed Chance over the edge. To see Lacey pleasuring herself in his presence, for him, even in thought alone, was too much for Chance’s overly aroused body to bear.

  He growled through his release, locking his knees when they threatened to buckle, and in that moment Chance decided he was done playing games. Lacey belonged to him. She deserved to be protected by him and although he’d tried to remain calm, it wasn’t going to happen anymore. Chance’s time for being Mr. Nice Guy was done and over with.

  With renewed vigor, Chance dragged himself from the shower. He dried off with a fluffy tan-colored towel, then strode naked into his bedroom where he rummaged through his closet for a clean pair of jeans and a shirt.

  Once dressed, Chance donned his socks and slid into his non-work boots. He made his way down the hall, grabbing his wallet along the way. Just before leaving, he lifted the phone from its receiver and set his plan into motion. The last thing he reached for before pulling the door open was his tan Stetson. With his hat firmly on his head, and his mind made up what to do, Chance walked to his truck.

  Before heading down the dusty ranch road toward town, Chance made a quick stop at the main house. Clay’s truck was gone but Bobbie would be home, and it was her opinion he was interested in at the moment.

  Upon reaching the rear entrance leading to the kitchen, Chance stomped his boots and knocked on the door before entering. He was immediately assailed with the familiar scents of home. Bobbie stood at the sink, her back to him.

  “Hi sis.” He’d come to think of Bobbie as his sister long before Clay had finally come to his senses and stopped acting like an ass. Not once had he regretted the decision to bring Bobbie to the ranch.

  “Hey there, Uncle Chance.” A smile curved his mouth just thinking about his newborn niece.

  “How’s peanut doing?”

  “She’s great. Getting bigger everyday.”

  It was then that Bobbie turned to look at him for the first time. Her brows furrowed and the beautiful smile that had just been spread across her face was replaced with a frown of concern.

  “What’s wrong?”

  The damned woman was much too perceptive.

  “Nothing,” Chance lied then added, “Well, not really.”

  Bobbie took his hand and led him to the kitchen table, then pushed him down into an empty chair.

  “Have a seat and tell me all about this nothing that is wrong while I get us some coffee. I hope decaf is fine.”

  Chance made a face at the thought of drinking anything less than the real thing.

  “I know the feeling, damned Clay won’t buy anything else. First it was because I was pregnant and now it’s because I’m nursing. At least I get the pleasure of knowing he’s suffering right along with me.” Bobbie’s laugh was one of pure feminine wickedness. Chance couldn’t help but join her.

  “So, do I have to coax it out of you or are you going to talk?”

  “I’m going to bring Lacey to the ranch.” There, he had said it. Of course saying it didn’t make it so.

  “Clay didn’t say anything about the two of you settling down.”

  Oh, hell, Chance thought to himself. He knew that tone of voice. “We aren’t, at least not yet. It’s not safe for her to stay by herself when we don’t know who tried to break into her place or for what purpose.”

  Bobbie sat across
from him at the table. Pushing his mug of coffee toward him, she watched him with her expressive eyes, then nodded. “There’s plenty of room here.”

  Chance interrupted before she could get going with that plan. “She’ll stay with me.”

  Bobbie’s eyes went from wide to narrowed slits in nothing flat. “And if she doesn’t want to?”

  “Come on Bobbie, you know Lacey. She’s as stubborn as a mule.”

  “I won’t get involved, Chance, but I’d think twice about trying to force your way of thinking on Lacey Winslow. If I know her as well as I think I do, it’ll blow up right in your face.”

  * * * *

  The drive into town was quiet except for the hum of the engine and the twang of some low country music. There were no other cars on the road except for a few truckers, making the trip a quiet one with way too much thinking time.

  Like a compact disk set on repeat, Bobbie’s warning kept playing over and over in his mind. Chance tried to ignore the dire warning and think positive.

  At least he was prepared. He had called ahead of time for two steak dinners to go with all the trimmings from the local diner. They would give him a reason to stay once he charmed his way through Lacey’s door, and if she was still pissed and refused his company, he’d do whatever he could possibly do to coax her to his way of thinking, even if it meant using her own body against her.

  Just thinking it might make him an asshole in the eyes of most but Chance didn’t give a shit. Right now his main priority was Lacey’s safety and the only way he could think to keep her safe was to keep her at the ranch with him until things blew over and hopefully by then, she’d decide to stay of her own accord.

  If not, Chance would cross that bridge when he got there.

  Chapter Five

  The day had been hellaciously long. Lacey felt as if she’d been hit by a truck and dragged a country mile. The more she tried to forget the feel of Chance’s hands and lips teasing her heated body, the more intense the memories became.

  She’d worked herself into a stupor cleaning the place after her last session was over and yet, every nerve ending still hummed with need. Lacey cursed her body’s betrayal, cursed her damp panties, but most of all she cursed Chance.

  Reveling in her aches and pain to help her forget, she turned out the lights and was just leaving the office when there was a knock at the door. Company was the last thing she wanted but Lacey wasn’t one who could just let the phone ring without answering or leave someone standing on her doorstep without seeing who it was.

  As soon as Lacey opened the door, she cursed her nosiness and vowed to change.

  “Hey Lace, how’s it going?”

  It was the sound of his voice combined with the knowledge that her slime ball of a cheating ex-husband would dare show up at her home that nearly had Lacey screaming in frustration. Instead, she asked as coolly as possible.

  “What do you want, Andy?”

  She wanted to vomit when his mouth split in that cheesy, ‘I am a gigolo’ smile, with his too white teeth contrasting against the fake tan of his too dark skin. “Come on now, babe, is that any way to speak to your husband?”

  Lacey couldn’t help but wonder if all men had been created idiots or just the ones roaming loose in her town. “I’m neither your babe nor your wife, so spit it out already.”

  A slight shiver of warning walked up her spine and his eyes narrowed on her, but he quickly covered it up with a greasy smile. Lacey chose to ignore the feeling of apprehension she felt in his presence. After all, she’d been married to the man and although he was a womanizing adulterer, there wasn’t anything dangerous about him. Was there?

  “Fine, you want to play it that way, then I’ll come right out with it.”

  “Why don’t I save you the trouble? I don’t have any money and even if I did, I wouldn’t give it to you.”

  Lacey just wanted him to leave. She wanted a hot bath to ease her sore muscles and then she wanted to crawl into bed and forget. Forget about Chance and his talented hands and forget about Andy and his idiocy.

  With the flick of her wrist, Lacey slammed the door in his face. Sighing in relief, she turned in her second attempt to leave the office. She was barely to the door separating her personal living quarters from the office when the bell over the door jingled.

  “Damn.”

  Lacey cursed her tiredness and the memory lapse that caused her to leave the door unlocked after closing in her ex-husband’s face. In exasperation, Lacey kept moving. Anger was mounting and if she wasn’t careful, they were going to end up in a yelling match.

  “I slammed the door on you for a reason, it’s because I don’t want you here.”

  Her angry declaration was met by silence. The lack of a smart-ass retort piqued Lacey’s curiosity, which in turn had her spinning on her heel, only to come face to face with Chance, a not very happy Chance who was standing stock still at the door.

  “Great, just what I need.” The mumbled words sounded petulant, even to her ears.

  “What’s going on, Lacey?”

  The question was simple enough, but the tone of Chance’s voice was intense, causing tiny little bumps of awareness to rise across her flesh.

  Lacey didn’t want to argue, especially not with Chance. There was just something about the Bodine men and their wicked ways that made arguing with them useless and she knew it.

  When she spotted the carry-out bags from the diner up the street in his hand, she clamped on it like a drowning victim hanging on to a life preserver.

  “You brought food. God bless you!” Lacey tried to hide her weariness under a smile, but one look at Chance and she knew it wasn’t working.

  “Lacey.” His low growl of disapproval was proof enough.

  Releasing her pent up breath with a sigh, she turned to him. “Look Chance, I really don’t want to go over it.” Her stomach picked the moment to rumble in hunger. Looking up she asked, “Did you bring that in here just to torture me or are you actually going to feed me?”

  Groaning with relief wasn’t an option but that was exactly what she wanted to do when Chance’s frown smoothed into a small smile.

  “Come on, darlin’, let’s get some food into you before that rumblin’ wakes the dead.”

  Chance chuckled as he took her hand and led her from the room. Lacey took one look back at the front door before she closed the connecting door. Andy was lucky he showed up when he did. Meeting Chance at her front door wouldn’t have been a healthy move.

  Once in the kitchen, Lacey busied herself by transferring their dinner from take out cartons to plates and finally to the table where Chance was seated after serving their drinks.

  Although not nearly as hungry as her stomach pretended to be, Lacey lit into her food like she might never make it to another meal, anything to keep from looking at Chance. The last thing she needed was a conversation that might turn ugly. She definitely wasn’t in the mood for it.

  Lacey ate slowly, chewing every bite until it was dust in her mouth, trying to hold off the questions she knew would come. Chance wasn’t the type to let things slide. When she could no longer stomach another bite and her eyes were so droopy she thought she might very well collapse sitting there at the kitchen table, Lacey stood, collecting her plate.

  When she reached for Chance’s, he stopped her with a hand wrapped around her wrist.

  “I’ll do it baby, you just sit there and relax.”

  Lacey could only stare. Had she heard him right? “I … um … okay.” She finally reneged when Chance gave her his famous ‘I’ll put up with no nonsense’ look.

  That tiniest, simplest touch had the power to make her insides tremble. Her already damp panties became soaked just thinking about his strength, the power he held in check. He was masterful and macho and could be the biggest jerk in town, but he’d somehow gotten under her skin. Lacey wasn’t so sure she liked the thought of getting too close. It wasn’t as easy to trust as it once had been.

  Watching was good
. Chance moved about her kitchen as if he owned the place. Not a single movement wasted, he worked his way around until not only were the dishes washed and laid out to dry but the counters were cleaned until they sparkled. It wasn’t until Chance finished that he turned to her.

  Lacey lay with her head resting in her folded arms on the wooden surface of the table. Her eyes were as tired as her body was achy, but she wouldn’t chance closing them because she might miss something.

  She followed Chance with her eyes as he moved across the kitchen. His bowlegged cowboy walk was as sexy as hell, especially as he drew nearer. There was just something about his trunk-sized thighs encased in tight jeans that made her feel like a drooling fool.

  When he bent at the knee, bringing them face-to-face, Lacey couldn’t help but give him a sleepy smile.

  “Wait right here darlin’.” Chance leaned in and kissed first one eyelid and then the other.

  After the butterfly soft kisses, Lacey couldn’t seem to open her eyes back up. Her lids were far too heavy. The rhythmic click of Chance’s boot heels on her linoleum floor was comforting in a way she couldn’t begin to explain.

  * * * *

  Chance filled the claw-footed bathtub with steaming hot water and a capful of the scented bubbles Lacey had on the windowsill. His senses came to immediate attention as the scent filled the room. Vanilla added with Lacey’s spice. It was no wonder he lost his mind every time he was around her.

  As quietly as possible, Chance made his way up the hall and back into the kitchen where Lacey was sound asleep right where he left her. She looked so cute he really hated to move her and yet, leaving her was not an option.

  He’d seen her grimace in discomfort with every move, as well as her disheveled appearance, not to mention the lemony fresh scent of cleaner that permeated not only the air but her clothes as well. And all of that had nothing to do with the fact that she’d lied to him, even if by omission.

  Someone had been there before he’d shown up, someone who had upset Lacey, and Chance damn well planned to find out who it was. An idea had already blossomed in his mind as to the person responsible but Chance knew he couldn’t go off half-cocked. He would find out for sure before beating Lacey’s ex-husband to a pulp for bothering her.