She nodded. “How soon can you get that to me?”

Kane smiled. “Now we’re talking. You catch on quick.”

She turned to Connor and slipped her hand into his. “I know I probably shouldn’t ask this. But again, I’m a little nervous. I don’t think it will be a problem. But . . .”

“Just ask, baby,” he said softly.

“I want to fire R.J. and Trent. Buy them out. Whatever. The problems are that I’m not sure what, if any, out I have in the contract, and they’re supposed to come in for the rodeo performance. They aren’t going to take it well. I’ve allowed them far too much latitude in their job. My fault, but there you have it.”

He put a finger to her mouth. “I’ll take care of it.”

She breathed out a sigh of relief.

“Any other earth-shattering changes you’re contemplating?”

She pressed her lips together and scrunched her brows. “I want to go whole hog. I’ve surrounded myself with people I don’t trust, who don’t care about me, have no investment in me beyond the paycheck I provide them. I know it sounds hypocritical. They don’t owe me anything other than to do the job they’re paid to do just like I don’t owe them anything beyond that paycheck. But I don’t want it to be that way. I want . . . I need a change. I don’t like my life very much.”

“Then do it,” Connor said. “If anyone can turn things around, it’s you. I don’t think there’s a person in the world who can run over you unless you let them.”

A smile twitched at her lips. “Yeah, I am a good bitch on wheels when given the right motivation.”

Kane chuckled and she turned quickly back to glare at him. “You are not to agree with that statement.”

He held up his hands in surrender. “For what it’s worth, I think you’re doing the right thing. It’s never too late to regain control over your career. And your life.”

“I can’t wait to see what the tabloids do with all of this when it gets out,” she said wryly. “They’ll have a field day. It’ll likely be reported that I’ve checked into the funny farm.”

“Fuck ’em,” Connor said. “You’ll know the truth. The people who care about you will know the truth. That’s all that matters.”

“And who are the people who care about me?” she asked softly.

He looked straight into her eyes. Then he reached out and touched her cheek, just one gentle brush with his fingertip. “I do.”

CHAPTER 25

Connor returned from taking the cups to the kitchen and saw that Lyric had fallen asleep on the couch. Not that it surprised him. She’d been bobbing and weaving for over an hour as she sat and talked to him and Kane. It was obvious she had no desire to go up to her room. Alone. She’d clung to their company until fatigue had overcome her.

“Want me to get her a blanket?” Kane asked.

Connor shook his head. “I’ll take her up. She’ll be more comfortable in her bed.”

“I’m going to turn in then. See you tomorrow.”

Kane walked quietly out of the living room and Connor stared down at Lyric, who was curled against the end of the couch, her head on the arm rest. He reached down and touched a strand of her hair that had fallen over her eyes and gently pushed it back.

“I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone like you,” he murmured. “Just when I think I’ve got you all figured out, you manage to surprise me all over again. I wonder sometimes if you even know who you are.”

He leaned down and slid his arms underneath her curled-up body and hoisted her up. She stirred and made a murmur of protest and then promptly cuddled into his chest.

He liked the way she felt in his arms. All soft and snuggly, her head tucked underneath his chin like she was made to go there.

Slowly he navigated the stairs and headed into her bedroom, where he deposited her onto the bed. She yawned and then her eyelids fluttered open and she blinked up at him.

He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. “You going to be okay?”

As he drew away, uncertainty, and a little fear, flashed in her eyes. She was clearly torn between wanting him to go and not wanting to be alone. He wasn’t going to push her. She had to make the choice herself, even if he had no desire to go anywhere.

There was something infinitely fragile about Lyric. Behind the badass persona was a fascinating mix of fear and insecurity that he still hadn’t been able to discern the reason for.

“Stay,” she said. Her gaze traveled over his face and he saw a hint of uncertainty. “I mean, I’d like you to stay. If you want . . .”

He bent down and shushed her with a kiss. He was purposely tender, allowing his mouth to melt over hers. “I want. I want very much. How about we get more comfortable and get into bed.”

It hadn’t been his plan to make love to her, but he’d gone instantly hard the moment she’d given him that sleepy, seductive look.

She rolled to the side of the bed and rose. He watched in the low light as she began undressing. She pulled her shirt over her head and then peeled down her jeans until she was clad in only her bra and panties.

It was a sight to make a red-blooded man get a raging case of lust. Jet-black and lacy. Ultrafeminine but it also screamed “Bad girl gonna rock your world.”

When she turned, he could see the mounds of her breasts pushed up to their best advantage, and the slightest hint of a peach-colored nipple peeked from above the cup.

As if he weren’t even there, she stretched lazily and then pushed the frothy lace from her body. As soon as she was naked, she crawled onto the bed and stretched out on her side, her vivid blue eyes trained on him as if telling him it was his turn.

He wondered if she knew what a provocative image she posed. Probably. She was likely grinning like a maniac on the inside because he was standing here with a bulge at his crotch that would make taking his jeans off painful and damn difficult.

When she shifted restlessly and slipped her fingers between her legs to delve into those soft folds, he lost what little patience he thought he was holding.

He yanked his shirt off and then fumbled with his pants. The condoms were where he’d left them—thank God—and he reached for one of the packets on the nightstand while he unzipped his jeans with the other.

She continued to stroke herself and made soft little sounds of pleasure that drove him insane. He itched from the inside out, like he’d been invaded by a thousand bugs.

He finally managed to get his pants and underwear off and he had to work at getting the condom on. He was so hard, the latex stretched tight over his aching erection until he worried he’d split the damn thing.

He strode to the bed and she gave him an innocent little smile that told him she knew precisely how naughty she was being. He reached for her ankles, yanked her around and then pulled her to the end of the bed. He spread her thighs, held them wide apart and then stroked inside her with one forceful thrust.

Her pussy rippled over his flesh, hugging, fighting, sucking him deeper. His entire body went so taut he was going to get a frigging cramp. But damn, she felt good. So good.

He closed his eyes and clenched his jaw, determined not to come. He was close. After one thrust he was fighting off his release with everything he had.

He leaned down and kissed the valley between her breasts as he pulsed inside her, dying to move, dying to thrust hard and long until she begged him to stop.

Drawn to the plump swells of her breasts, he slid his tongue over the underside and then up over her nipple. A spasm rolled through her body and her pussy contracted around him in little, fluttery pulses that damn near made his eyes roll back in his head.

He nipped at the taut peak and then sucked it strongly between his teeth. She flinched and moved restlessly beneath him and then finally dug her fingers into his shoulders and lifted her hips.