Lasso let out a sigh like somebody’d just put the screws to him and he had to cave. “So, okay. What you need to understand is, my family is pretty big shit due to our big ol’ ranch and contribution to the steak and potatoes atmosphere around town. We own about half the town which makes my family think they can tell us all how to live.”
“Judgmental?”
He shrugged. “They just think they know best about everything. Including my life. That’s why I left.”
“And went to the military. Got that.” There were more layers to Lasso than I thought and that didn’t bode well for me. Pregnant, hormonal and on the run with a kind and handsome man who knew how to give me the best orgasms I ever had. What could possibly go wrong except everything?
“I joined because I always wanted to, and I planned to ever since Billy Macready’s father came to speak to our class in the fourth grade. Mama thought I’d grow out of it and Daddy just assumed that I wouldn’t dare defy him. They were both wrong.”
I looked at him, at the tightly coiled tension beneath his laidback outer shell. He didn’t like talking about his family, but he was doing it, for me. “How’d you get the nickname Lasso?”
“You don’t want to know,” he grumbled.
I pushed but he kept quiet, even when I put my hand high on his thigh, letting my pinky graze his sac. “If it’s not about cowboy stuff it must be because you’re such a big ol’ whore, right?”
“Whore?” He choked on the word but he couldn’t hide the amused smile on his face. “Did you just call me a big ol’ whore?”
“I did. So, which is it?”
“Neither, but now my feelings are hurt and I’m not inclined to tell you the real story.”
He was so full of shit and I proved it my nibbling on his ear as he turned down a mostly dirt road covered with thick, green trees.
“I call bullshit,” I said before he made another turn and a big ass cabin came into view but only once we were deep in the thick of the trees.
I swallowed at the big pine structure and fell against my seat. It was two stories with dark windows all around and a big wraparound porch. It looked like how rich people roughed it. “Is this yours?”
“It belongs to the club.” He said it so simply, like motorcycle clubs just owned mansions in the woods.
“Business must be good.” Because I never remember Dad having that kind of money after a score.
“You know the biggest outlaws do business legally, don’t you?”
“I do.” It made me happy to hear that the Reckless Bastards had legitimate businesses, but I wondered about something else. “Does your family know yet they’re about to gain another member?”
“No, but it’s not because of you. It’s because of them. I’ll tell them, I promise. Eventually. Does your dad know?”
“Nope. I don’t even know where he is and it’s probably safe that he doesn’t know.”
We were a pair. How could we be parents with such terrible role models? We were both good people, so I had hope for this baby growing in my belly. If he or she made it to term, it had a pretty good shot at becoming a decent human being. I hoped. “So, this is our honeymoon suite? I didn’t know you cared so much, husband.”
He smirked and dropped a hand on my thigh, stroking slowly, making me moan. “You’re a smartass.”
“That’s my most charming personality trait,” I insisted. “Regretting you didn’t get a quieter model?”
He laughed and jumped from the car, jogging around the front and pulling me out. “Nah, I like you best when you’re loud.” He kissed me again like I was someone else. Someone special and precious to him. Like I mattered.
It really was too bad I couldn’t keep Lasso.
He was exactly my kind of perfect.
Chapter 16
Lasso
“This isn’t exactly rustic,” Rocky grumbled at the same time I argued, “You said you couldn’t cook.”
My tone wasn’t accusatory as we dug into the smoky, spicy chili she’d whipped up when we arrived a couple of hours ago. Just surprised. “And I said it was more rustic than a tropical honeymoon vacation.”