The Bribe (Calamity Montana)

“FUCK,” Duke hissed. His grip bruised my thighs as I rode him up and down. “Get there.”

I closed my eyes, my hands on my breasts. My nipples were pinched between my own fingers and I was seconds away from detonating.

Duke let go of a thigh and brought his thumb to my clit. The moment he touched me, my orgasm broke, hurdling me from one body-wracking pulse to another, until I lost all strength and collapsed forward onto his chest.

He rolled us, pinning my wrists to the mattress as he hovered above me, my inner walls clenching around his length. “You feel so good, baby.”

My toes curled and I rode out the aftershocks while Duke thrust in and out, slamming our bodies together. My hair was everywhere. A strand was in my mouth and another over my eyes, but I didn’t try to pull my hands free to tuck the locks away. Duke had me where he wanted me and I was at his mercy.

He drove in deep, to the hilt, letting the root of his cock slam against my swollen clit with every move. After such a colossal orgasm, I didn’t think I could come again. But the next—the third or fourth, I’d lost count—came over me and I cried out in surprise, arching my back and letting my body tremble as I was lost to anything but pleasure.

My orgasm triggered Duke’s and he roared my name through his release, coming inside me with long strokes.

We’d been fucking for what felt like hours. The two of us were dripping with sweat. My bedroom reeked of sex and sin.

“Wow.” A smile stretched across my face.

Tonight was one I’d remember for years. Singing at the bar. Finding Duke in the crowd. Riding out the post-show rush in his arms. It was one of the best times I’d had in my entire life.

Duke collapsed beside me, our chests rising and falling in a fast rhythm as we caught our breath. His hand found mine on the sheet between us. “That was hot.”

I hummed my agreement. Part of me wanted to drift off into the sexual haze and sleep, but adrenaline from the bar was still coursing through my veins, despite the sated and limp feeling in my bones.

Duke gave my hand a tug, signaling I was not in the correct place. So I used the last of my strength to roll into his side and toss an arm across his abs.

“Do you care that I joined the band? It kind of screws with the routine we’ve had.”

“Care? Fuck no. If you want to sing, sing. Especially if you get all keyed up afterward and let me experiment in the bedroom.”

“And the living room. And the landing at the top of the stairs.”

“And the truck.” The smirk on his face was total male arrogance. Also hot.

As were the positions he’d contorted me into tonight. I’d be sore tomorrow, but damn, it had been worth it.

After leaving the bar, we hadn’t gone to Duke’s place. He’d deemed it too far away, and instead, we’d come to the farmhouse in his truck. My Rover was still parked on First. On the drive, he’d given me orgasm number one with his fingers.

I traced my fingers up and down his ribs. Duke wasn’t ticklish, something I’d discovered over the past few weeks. No matter where I touched or how featherlight my fingers skated across areas I expected to be sensitive, he wouldn’t so much as twitch.

He mimicked the movement on my ribs, earning a squeal and squirm because I, on the other hand, was quite ticklish.

“Stop.” I swatted at his hand with a giggle. “I’m too weak to laugh.”

He pulled me close. “You were amazing tonight.”

“It was the most fun I’ve had behind a microphone in a while. Thanks for being there.”

“You’re there, I’m there. I wouldn’t miss a show for anything.”

I sighed, sinking deeper into his side. Playing with that band, singing my heart out, had been incredible. And after that last set, I finally had some answers to the questions I’d been asking myself. “I need to be Lucy Ross.”

“I know.”

I propped my chin on his chest to meet his eyes. “Will people around Calamity hate me for lying?”

“Doubt it. I think most will understand. And if they don’t, fuck ’em.”

“These are your people, Sheriff.”

He touched the tip of my nose. “You are my people.”

“I don’t want to lose you,” I whispered. How could I be me and keep hold of this life in Calamity?

“I’m not going anywhere.” He leaned up, taking my lips as he wrapped his arms around me. Then he laid me on my back, tangling a heavy, muscled leg with mine. When he broke the kiss, his hand came to my face, his fingertips tracing the line of hair by my temple.

“I don’t know what the future looks like.” I wanted to stay in Calamity but I also wanted to create music.

“You don’t have to,” he said. “We’ll figure it out together.”

This man was a rock, a mountain of steady strength. Never in my life, not even when my parents had been alive, had I felt this grounded.

“Duke, I swore I wasn’t going back to Nashville but now . . .” I wasn’t sure I could keep my promise.

“Hey.” He leaned on his elbow, locking those blue pools on my face. “Listen. I’ve had time to think about this. And the bottom line is, I’m not letting you go. If that means I join the force in Nashville, so be it. Or I can work security. Or I can talk to Blake’s boss about joining his firm.”

I blinked up at him, replaying the words. “You’d come with me?”

“Lucy, from the moment I found you facing off with a buffalo, I knew you were special. Every day, you become more precious to me. I don’t care where life takes us as long as it takes me with you.”

A sheen of tears filled my eyes. That special moment I’d been waiting for? This was it. “Duke, I—”

“Don’t you dare say it first.” He put a finger over my lips. My heart stopped. Even though I knew what was coming, I held my breath. “I love you, Lucy Ross. Jade Morgan. Whoever you need to be, I love you.”

“I love you too.” I surged into his arms, molding my lips to his.

God, why had I waited to say those words? The moment they were free, I was cloaked in beautiful peace. This sense of belonging I hadn’t had since I was eighteen, watching my father twirl my mother around the living room while I played them my latest song on the guitar.

Tears flowed down my cheeks, clinging to his. Did he even know how much I loved him? How much I needed him? How much I’d fight for this, for us, every day of my life?

If he said the word, I’d give up singing immediately. I loved him even more because I knew, bone deep, he’d never ask.

“What’s this?” He broke away, drying my tears with his hands. “Why are you crying?”

I sucked in a deep breath, pulling myself together. “Because I’ve been so lost. Since my parents died, I’ve been wandering around, searching for a family. I don’t even think I realized how much I needed one. Now I have you and it just feels . . . like maybe I’m not so alone.”

“You’ll never be alone,” he promised. “As long as there is a beat in my heart and breath in my lungs, you’ll never be alone.”

I smiled and another sob broke loose so I buried my head in his shoulder as he held me, crying the tears I’d been holding in for far too long.

The shelter I’d craved for years was right here in his arms.

Duke held me until I had control of my emotions, then he shifted so his chest was pressed against my back and his big, strong body was wrapped around mine.

“I don’t know where to go from here,” I confessed. “I don’t know how to unravel the truth and meld my old life with the new one.”

“We’ll start by making sure you’re safe,” he said. “That’s priority one. I’ll check in with Blake tomorrow and see if he’s found anything yet. Once it’s safe, we’ll start taking down the wall. We’ll let the truth come out and take it one step at a time.”

“Okay.” I relaxed, happy to let him dictate the next steps.

Blake had been in Nashville for two days. He’d finally wrapped up his other assignment in California and had flown to Tennessee. We hadn’t heard from him since he’d arrived but he was working.

Foolish as it was, I had hope for the first time in months. Duke’s faith in Blake’s skills was contagious. Even though I’d put faith in Detective Markum, after months and months and months with no leads, I’d given up hope.

But maybe, just maybe, we’d end this for good.

Then I’d clean up my mess.

“Do you think it was childish for me to run away?” I asked.

“No.” Duke’s breath whispered across my cheek. “Not childish at all. You were freaked. You got the hell out of there.”

“I was scared. Maybe if singing hadn’t become so hard, I would have pushed past the fear. But there wasn’t enough to make me stay.”

The joy from singing had been too far removed. Even now, the anger at Scott and the label for not taking the stalker seriously seethed close to the surface. The frustration that people had wanted me only for my money and talent. The sadness that artists like Everly would never get their due. And the despair that it was out of my control. Hell, I hadn’t even been able to choose my own backup singers.

I’d needed to come to Calamity. I’d needed to start down the path of putting the negative emotions aside. Maybe there’d been a better solution than creating Jade Morgan, but as I lay in Duke’s arms, I couldn’t regret it. Had I stayed in Nashville, I wouldn’t have found him.

I wouldn’t have fallen in love with Calamity.

“I want to live here.”

Duke’s arms tightened, like my statement surprised him. “What about singing?”

“I’ll find a way to sing. Even if it’s just with Andrew and Joe and Gary at the bar. But I don’t want to live in Nashville again.”

“You sure?”

I spun in his arms so I could see his face as we talked this through. “Absolutely.”

“Let’s pick a roof. No more back and forth. This place or mine?”

“Yours.” I wanted to share his home. I loved the farmhouse but it had always been a temporary home. His was permanent.

A grin tugged at his mouth. “Call Kerrigan. Tomorrow.”

“Okay. Can I tell her the truth? She feels like a friend. I want her to know my real name.”

His eyebrows came together, pondering the decision, but he nodded. “All right.”

“And Travis.”

“I trust Kerrigan. She’s an adult and if you explain the situation to her, she’ll understand and keep it to herself. Like Jane.”

“But—wait, Jane? She knows? Shit.” I slapped a hand to my forehead. “Maybe I shouldn’t have done my own songs tonight.”

“She’s known since I introduced you the first time we went for burgers. She won’t tell.”

“Phew.” I sighed.

“Now, back to Travis. You know I love that kid. But I don’t think he should know. Not yet. He’s a teenage boy. Not exactly the breed of human known for keeping shit quiet.”

I giggled. “Okay. Not Travis. But soon.”

“Soon.” He tucked a lock of my hair behind my ear. It was something he’d been doing more of lately, fixing the pieces that wouldn’t stay out of my face.

“Will you still love me if I’m blond?”

“No.”

I smacked his shoulder.

Duke shifted to his back, laughing up at the ceiling. It gave me the perfect view to appreciate his white smile. And wow, it was something. Powerful and pure, it came from deep inside his chest, like he held it close, waiting for the special moments to set it loose.

This moment was mine.

I loved this man with my entire being. If that meant sacrificing my superstar career so he could stay here, where he belonged and was happy, then I’d make that choice. I’d choose him every day, because it didn’t really feel like a sacrifice.

One day soon, I’d be Lucy Ross, Duke’s girlfriend. Maybe one day, Duke’s fiancée, then wife.

And maybe if I wasn’t in Nashville, the stalker who’d tried so hard to tear me away from that life would feel like he’d won.

Fine. I’d admit defeat in that battle.

Because as Duke pulled me into his arms, ending his laughter with a kiss, I knew I’d already won the war.

“WHAT DO you want to do today?” Duke asked, sipping his morning coffee.

The two of us had slept in late, having stayed up through most of the night. By the time we’d both finally worn off the adrenaline from the bar, it had been nearly three in the morning.

My voice was hoarse and my throat sore. My vocal cords were not in shape and diving into a performance with no warm-up or rehearsal time had been rough. I sounded like a lifelong smoker at the moment and it wouldn’t surprise me if I couldn’t speak by the end of the day.

They’d recover, and it had been worth it.

“I’m going to call Kerrigan and tell her I’m moving out but I’ll still pay through my lease,” I said, sipping my own coffee. “Then I want to start moving into my new house.”

He grinned. “Good answer.”

I laughed and opened the fridge. “What do you feel like for breakfast?”

“How about we head down to the café for a big breakfast? Then we’ll come back and start packing up.”

“Sold.” I pushed the refrigerator closed. “I’m starving. And I need to pick up my car.”

I grabbed my mug, ready to head out, when the doorbell rang.

The two of us shared a look before Duke strode through the house, making sure to block the view as he unlocked and inched open the door.

“Hey there. Remember me?”

I gasped and clapped a hand over my mouth.

I knew that voice.

“Barely recognized you without the bear spray.” Duke chuckled, letting me shove him aside to fling the door wide open.

Everly.

Her eyes were shaded by enormous sunglasses. A backpack strap hung from one shoulder and her suitcase rested by her feet.

“Ev?” I wrapped my arms around her for a tight hug. “What are you doing here?”

“I told you I had paperwork from the label. I decided to deliver it myself.”

“Come in.” I let her go, moving out of the way so she could step inside.

Duke grabbed her suitcase and set it in the foyer.

“Nice place.” She looked around, taking in the living room as she walked deeper into the house. “It’s even better than the pictures.”

When I’d been searching for a place to rent in Calamity, she’d been doing the same. We’d been on the couch in our apartment, both with a laptop balanced on our thighs. She’d actually been the one to find this farmhouse first.

“I can’t believe you’re here.”

“Me neither.” She set her backpack down and took off her sunglasses. There were dark circles under her eyes and she’d lost weight that she hadn’t needed to lose. Her shoulders were hunched forward, weary, like she’d been awake all night and was seconds away from the crash. “I’ve been up since three so I could get the earliest flight out. Getting to Calamity before noon isn’t easy. And the Uber driver who brought me here from Bozeman seriously needs to lay off the cheap body spray. Two and a half hours of that stench. Blech.”

I laughed. “Want some coffee?”

“Is my name Everly Christian?”

I took Everly’s hand and led her to the kitchen with Duke following behind.

“How long are you here?” I asked, pouring her a mug.

She shrugged. “Nashville sucks. Especially without you around. Mind if I stay awhile?”

I shared a smile with her, then Duke. “Stay as long as you want.”

Maybe I wouldn’t have to leave the farmhouse empty after all.