Free Second Ride Cowboy (Second Chance Series) by Rhonda Lee Carver Page A

Duke!”
    “Are you taking something, baby?” he asked against her cheek. “Protection?”
    “Yes,” she whispered.
    Removing his finger, he pressed the head of his cock against her lips and her tight muscles wrapped around him. He slid deeper as she swirled her pussy in a rhythmic motion, her fingers gripped his shoulders as he plunged into her. His balls tingled. Her body tensed and her breathing turned ragged. Her nails sank into his back and it drove him over the edge. One last jerky motion and he released.
    They lay together, Duke listening to the fast beating of her heart. He didn’t want to move because he knew once he did the pleasant mating would end. He rolled to the side and the cool air swept across his moist cock. Silence became a dark cloud hovering over them.
    Lila moved off of the bed, pulling on her panties followed by her shorts. Her hair was disheveled and her lips were swollen from his kisses. His cock jerked and pointed at the ceiling proudly. He was ready for round two, but the distance in her gaze told him it wasn’t happening. His tongue was frozen and his dick went flaccid. She wrapped her arms around her waist and dismay flooded him. “I know that look,” he said. He wished he was a man with a broad vocabulary because he wanted to say something, anything, to erase the signs of disappointment marring her beautiful features.
    “And what is this look?”
    “That was a record breaker. Hot to cold in seven seconds.” He grabbed his jeans and stood up to pull them on; thankful he didn’t fall flat on his face.
    The area between her brows wrinkled. “I’ll make this easy. Ava is your daughter. Only you can choose what kind of a father you are. My mom always told me that God made three types of men. A man who steps up, a man who steps down, or a man who just simply isn’t. Which one are you, Duke?”
    With a flip of her hair, she turned on heel and was gone.
    Release and satisfaction didn’t feel as sweet as he thought it’d be.
     

CHAPTER EIGHT
     
    LILA SHUT HERSELF in her bedroom and leaned against the closed door. She breathed in through her nose and exhaled through her mouth, hoping her blood pressure would ease.
    Who did he think he was? Duke could be the most egotistical jerk she’d ever come across, and turn around and sweep her off of her feet. She’d had sex with him. It was unavoidable. When two people are drawn together the force becomes too much. She couldn’t allow guilt to blur how good it’d felt. Her inner thighs still quivered.
    This wasn’t only about her, though. It was about Ava too.
    Lila bit back a sob. How could things be so out of hand? Life should be easier, predictable. Lila had to protect Ava. Duke clung to his wrath of self-pity, but she refused to allow her child to become a hostage in this. She had to pull herself out of the hold Duke had on her and look for her future as Ava’s mother.
    Taking her cell from the nightstand, she tried calling Carly. No answer. She started to put her phone down but it vibrated. A text message from Shaun Lucas.
    She read it:
    “Can I see you tonight? You disappeared.”
    ****
    Duke heard the scream-like crying from down the hall. He’d tried burying his head under the pillow, but it hadn’t worked. Getting out of bed, he paced the floor. He wasn’t sure if it was his anxiety or guilt that had him bothered. The cries were like a razor cutting into his sanity.
    He walked the floor until he could no longer stand it. Opening the door, he stuck his head out, glancing toward Ava’s room.
    Lila had left about an hour ago with Lucas. Duke had watched from his bedroom window as she’d climbed into the passenger side of Lucas’s Porsche. Her smile had made Duke frown. She’d glanced up at his window as they pulled away. He’d been quick and darted back before she saw him, at least he’d hoped.
    Margaret Dennis had showed up sometime before Lila had left. Apparently, the older woman babysat Ava, but lacked skill. Could she