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  Busted

  Book Five in the Brant County Heroes Series

  Cher Carson

  Copyright © by Cher Carson

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, including photocopying, graphic, electronic, mechanical, taping, recording, sharing, or by any information retrieval system without the express written permission of the author and / or publisher. Exceptions include brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  Persons, places and other entities represented in this book are deemed to be fictitious. They are not intended to represent actual places or entities currently or previously in existence or any person living or dead. This work is the product of the author’s imagination.

  Any and all inquiries to the author of this book should be directed to [email protected].

  Busted © 2012 Cher Carson

  Prologue

  One Year Earlier

  Charlene McCoy hadn’t been home to Brant County in months that seemed like years, yet nothing ever seemed to change. Same familiar faces crowding around the counter at Mavis’s little diner, same tired cowboys trying to hook up with the same local girls at Dixie’s Bar. Sometimes she missed being home, but on nights like this, she wished she never had to come back.

  Her life-long friend, Colleen Keyes, raised a mason jar in her honor. “It’s so good to have you home, girl. Here’s to hopin’ you don’t stay away so long next time.”

  Her other two friends, Rose and Lisa, chimed in, giggling and clinking their jars together. “I can’t believe you were smart enough to get out, but stupid enough to come back,” Lisa laughed. “I swear, if I ever had the chance to leave this place, I’d never look back.”

  Lisa’s father got sick a few years ago, and she’d had to take over the feed store with her younger brother. According to Lisa, it was a thankless job if ever there was one.

  Charlene looked around the crowded bar. She’d been coming to Dixie’s since the day she was finally able to flash her ID at the door, same as most of her friends, but their little hotspot paled in comparison to most of the bars and clubs she’d visited during her years in the big city.

  “I don’t know what the hell I’m gonna do when I graduate,” Charlene said, bringing the cold brew to her lips. In a year she’d have her degree, but she still hadn’t decided whether she would come home to Brant to appease her overprotective family or branch out on her own and try to secure a teaching position in a big city.

  “Well, you know they’re keepin’ Ms. Ingham’s spot open for you,” Colleen said. “In case you do decide to come back.”

  The second-grade teacher was retiring next year, after forty years on the job, and since her mother was friends with the principal, she’d convinced Mrs. Briar to give Charlene the first chance at it.

  Charlene propped her chin in her hand and looked around the crowded bar. “If I did come back, who the hell would I hook up with? Look around you. We went to middle school with these guys.” Her eyes landed on a tall, dark-haired cowboy with a shadow of whiskers masking his jaw. “Except for him. Who is that?”

  “Oh believe me, you don’t wanna go there, hon,” Colleen said, raising her hand.

  Spoken like a woman who was getting sex regularly. Too bad Charlene couldn’t say the same.

  As though he sensed her eyes on him, her handsome cowboy glanced in their direction and grinned when he witnessed her very obvious perusal of his assets.

  That slow, sexy smile shot straight to her core and Charlene slid her tongue over her lips, daring him to take his eyes off her. “What’s his story?”

  Rose leaned in and whispered, “I heard he’s into some seriously kinky shit.”

  Charlene’s eyes traveled over his broad shoulders and narrow hips to his very fine, denim-clad ass. She wouldn’t mind getting a little kinky with him. “Where’d you hear that?”

  “Kelly Tanner went out with him a few times. Remember her from high school? She went through the whole football team in alphabetical order.” All the women laughed before Rose continued, “She said he’s into whips and chains...” She shuddered, as though she found the idea revolting. “Apparently, he only likes submissive women.”

  Charlene rolled her eyes. Anyone who was a little different was fodder for Brant’s gossip mill. The little blue-haired ladies must have had a coronary when they heard about this one. A real live Dominant living in their midst, trying to corrupt their daughters and granddaughters. It’s a wonder the uptight, law-abiding citizens who ran the town hadn’t run him out.

  “Give the guy a break, Rosie. Just ‘cause Kelly says he’s into…” Before she could finish her thought, the man in question walked toward her, looking as if he might be sizing her up for a pair of fur-lined handcuffs.

  He tipped his black cowboy hat and spared a glance around the table before his hot gaze finally landed on Charlene. “Evenin’, ladies.” He braced one hand on the table and one on the back of Charlene’s chair before he finally leaned in to whisper, “You feel like takin’ a spin around the dance floor, darlin’?”

  His husky voice worked like a potent aphrodisiac, arousing and rendering her speechless at the same time. “I… uh…”

  He didn’t wait for her response before grabbing her hand and leading her on to the dance floor. The live band played an old Garth Brooks song as he pulled her body flush against his and let his hand dip to the swell of her bottom. “How come I ain’t seen you around here before?”

  She was still trying to find her voice when he started to laugh, low and soft in her ear.

  “Do I make you nervous?”

  “No.” But the thought of what he might want to do to her did, and just imagining what she might want to let him do… If her girlfriends could read the books hidden behind the innocuous leather cover of her e-book reader, they’d be shocked and appalled at the things that aroused her.

  “I can tell you’re lyin’. Your girlfriends been fillin’ your head with all kinds of crazy things ‘bout me?”

  She couldn’t confront him with the truth, so she smiled and said, “Of course not. Why would you think that?”

  He laughed. “Honey, this is a small town. Word gets around.”

  “How much of it is true?” She dipped her head back to look at him, trying to pretend she was accustomed to having conversations with men about their unusual sexual appetites.

  “There’s only one way to find out.” His big, rough hands spanned her waist as he pressed her stomach into the hard length of his arousal. “Come home with me and find out for yourself.”

  Did she really have the nerve to call him on his audacious proposition? “Are you asking because you think I won’t?” She’d been a good girl all her life, doing exactly what everyone expected her to. What they didn’t know was that there was a very, very bad girl waiting for a man like him to set her free.

  “I’m askin’ ‘cause I hope you will.” Cole was so turned on it took all of his restraint not to drag her out to the parking lot, throw her in the bed of his truck, and put on a show for anyone who might pass by.

  As soon as he’d spotted her checking him out under the veil of those long, dark lashes, he could tell she was the kind of woman he hungered for: someone who was curious to explore the darker side of sex, but afraid to take the leap until she had an experienced guide. He would be more than happy to be her man.

  “I don’t even know your name.” She linked her hands behind his neck. “How can I even think about… you know… with a total stranger?”

  “Sometimes it’s better that way,” he whispered, dipping his head to whisper in her ear. “Anonymous… no expectations…just one incredible night where you can live out your fantasies with no regret or shame in the mornin’.”

  She trembled in his arms and he knew
she’d thought about what he proposed before. “Whaddya say? You game?”

  “I don’t know.” She drew her full bottom lip between her teeth. “How do I know it’s safe? I mean, I don’t know anything about you.”

  He knew she was right; she didn’t know him or what he might be capable of. “We can go back to your place, if you’d rather do this on your home turf?”

  “No!” She blushed when a few of people crowding the floor turned to look at her. “Um, I’m okay with goin’ back to your place.”

  He’d indulged in his fair share of one-night stands over the years, and he rarely felt the need to spell out the rules in advance, but for reasons he couldn’t explain, he needed to know that Charlene understood what she was getting herself into by agreeing to go with him. “You sure about this?”

  She raised her chin and looked him in the eye. “I’m sure.”

  Cole said a silent prayer of thanks. Walking away from her with the promise of what might have been still lingering between them would have been the hardest thing he’d had to do in a long time. “You probably don’t want your friends to know what your plans are, so why don’t I head on out to my truck and wait a few minutes? You can follow me out when you’re ready.”

  “Okay.”

  She looked so sweet, so uncertain, when she looked up at him with those big, blue innocent eyes that he felt compelled to frame her face with his hands and whisper, “I promise to take good care of you. We won’t do anything you’re not comfortable with. This is your night; you decide how far you’re willin’ to go. No pressure.”

  “Are you sure?”

  He kissed her cheek and whispered in her ear, “You have my word. I have a home, business, and family here. I wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize that.”

  His assurance seemed to put her at ease because she smiled. “I’ll be out in a few minutes.”

  Charlene mentally rehearsed her speech on the way back to the table. She’d feign a headache, grab her purse, and promise to call her girlfriends tomorrow. There was only one problem with her plan… she was a terrible liar. Most people, especially those who’d known her a day shy of forever were usually able to see right through her.

  “Hope y’all don’t mind if I call it a night a bit early?” She reached into her purse and tossed a few wrinkled bills on the table. “Next round’s on me.”

  Colleen narrowed her eyes as she looked from her friend to the money. “What are you up to, girl?”

  After clearing her throat, Charlene offered a weak smile. “Nothing. I just have a bit of a headache. I’m gonna go home, take a couple of Tylenol, and turn in. It’s been a long day.”

  “Why don’t I believe her?” Rose asked, looking to her other friends for confirmation.

  “Could be because she’s lyin’ through her teeth,” Lisa said, bringing the beer to her lips to hide her grin. “Just look at her. That’s the same look she used to get when she was tellin’ old man Rogers she couldn’t take gym class ‘cause she had cramps.”

  Rose laughed and pointed at Charlene. “You almost had that poor old fool believin’ you were the only girl in ninth grade who got a period every other week.”

  Charlene should have known she wouldn’t be able to stage this exit with her dignity intact. “Listen, it’s been fun catching up. Maybe we can hook up again before I leave town?”

  “You’re leavin’ with him, aren’t you?” Rose asked. She turned around to look for the cowboy in question. “Look at that, he’s nowhere to be found. He wouldn’t be outside waitin’ on you, now would he?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Charlene frowned when all three women rolled their eyes at her pathetic excuse for a denial. She either had to stick to the truth or figure out how to tell a little white one without making a fool of herself. “Like I said, I’m tired and I have a headache.”

  Lisa reached for Charlene’s hand when she took a step away from the table. “Hey, just be careful, okay?”

  For the first time since she’d accepted Cole’s proposition, she began to fear for her safety. There was a fine line between taking a harmless risk and making a colossal mistake. “I’ll be fine.”

  At least she hoped she would.

  Those were the longest minutes of Cole’s life as he waited for her to make her way outside. He half-expected her friends to start talking him down again, making the decision easy for her. That was the problem with small towns, especially when you weren’t one of their own. Everyone knew everyone else’s business and they weren’t afraid to speculate or embellish the truth if it was a slow news day.

  Cole had done his best to be discreet about his lifestyle, but since celibacy wasn’t an option any more than vanilla sex was, he had to bite the bullet and ask out a few of the local girls to take the edge the off. Most were intrigued at first, but none embraced the lifestyle the way he hoped they would.

  Finding a date when he lived in a big city was easy, but in a small town like Brant, he felt like a freak because it took more than a hint of cleavage to turn him on. He’d made a few good friends since coming to town, but none of them seemed to understand his need to dominate women sexually. He wasn’t entirely sure he understood it himself, but he did know he tried normal, and it did nothing for him.

  When he saw her come out, discreetly looking both ways for any sign of him, his heart damn near stopped. In spite of what her girlfriends undoubtedly told her about him, she was still interested. He flashed his lights to let her know where she could find him and he watched her climb into the driver’s seat of a late-model Honda. He eased his big truck out of the lot and waited at the stop sign for her to follow him.

  He knew nothing about her, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to know. If she was a local, he didn’t want the complication of worrying about whether she would expect to see him again. He had a daughter to raise and a ranch to run. That didn’t leave a lot of time for a lady in his life.

  Thankfully his little girl was having a sleepover with her nana tonight, which gave him a chance to entertain the lovely blonde in his rear-view mirror. She was gorgeous with shoulder length hair, bright blue eyes, and a tight little body he couldn’t wait to explore. He meant what he said, he wouldn’t push her too far out of her comfort zone, but he sure as hell hoped she was the adventurous type, because he looked forward to christening his playroom.

  Miles slipped past as they made their way out to his ranch, the reason he’d made the move out here. His parents divorced when he was young and his older brother stayed here in Brant with his mama, while he moved to Texas with his old man. Booze claimed his father right around the time his mother inherited a ranch she was getting too old to run by herself. The decision seemed simple. His mother needed him, his little girl needed a woman in her life, and he needed a fresh start after his wife got behind the wheel after having a few too many shots with her girlfriends and wrapped her car around a tree.

  “Shit,” he muttered, turning his signal on and pulling over to the side of the dirt road. He jumped out, but left the truck running as he walked back to her car.

  She rolled her window down and looked up at him. “Is there a problem?”

  Yeah, the way his gut clenched when she looked up at him with those wide, trusting eyes. “I should’ve asked you this before. You okay to drive?”

  She laughed. “Of course I am.”

  “I saw you drinkin’ with your friends.” He braced his hand on the hood of her car and leaned in. “How many did you have?”

  “I don’t know.” She shrugged. “Not more than two.”

  He scowled. “You shouldn’t be drinkin’ and drivin’, period.”

  “Oh, lighten up…”

  Cole knew she was waiting for him to supply his name. He figured exchanging first names was harmless. In fact, he kind of looked forward to hearing his name on her lips as he plunged into her the first time. “Cole.”

  She smiled. “Cole. I like that.” She stuck her hand out the window. “Charlene.”

 
; He chuckled as he took her hand in both of his. “You’re just about the sweetest little thang I’ve come across in a long, long time, darlin’.” He tipped his cowboy hat back. “My ranch isn’t far from here. You sure you’re gonna be okay to drive? There’s lots of wildlife roamin’ around these parts at night. I wouldn’t want ya to get caught off guard, especially since you’ve had a few—”

  “Two, I had two. If that. Besides, I grew up around here. You don’t need to worry about me, cowboy. I can handle myself just fine.”

  “Okay, don’t say I didn’t warn ya.” He walked back toward his truck, but he couldn’t resist a glimpse over his shoulder. She was shaking her head and laughing. At him. Damn her. But it still made him smile.

  He got back in his truck, cranked the country tunes, and made his way down the familiar road, checking on the little red car in his rear-view mirror constantly. Damn, she was a cute little thing. Probably too innocent for what he had in mind, but he still looked forward to spending the night with her. He knew she’d have to go back home, wherever the hell that was, come morning, but half a dozen hours should be just enough to show her a good time. He’d pay for it come morning when he had to get up for work, but it’d be worth it.

  Charlene followed him up the long and winding road to the main house and waited for him to cut his engine before she climbed out of her car. She stood with her hands on her hips, looking up at the big, burgundy ranch house with the wrap-around porch. “Hey, this is the Braxton place. My mama is real good friends with Ruth Braxton.” She tipped her head back to look at him. “You wouldn’t be her younger son, would you?”

  So much for anonymity. What did he expect? This was Brant County, after all. “Yeah, I am.”

  “I knew your brother growin’ up, though he was quite a bit older than me. But I think you left town before I was even born. You didn’t come back much, did you?”