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  She should have spent more time preparing herself for the rush of emotions that were now bombarding her instead of focusing on getting Noble into bed.

  With a grunt, Ivy rolled off the mattress and padded across the room. She winced as her sore and swollen folds protested each step. Her sexy sequined dress lay in a heap on the floor by the wall. Right where Noble had first quenched the fire blazing inside her.

  Shoving the memories down, she stepped into the bathroom. Before she tended to her bloated bladder and fuzzy tongue, Ivy tossed back several aspirin to quell the pounding in her head. After a long, hot shower, she ordered room service, choked down a bacon cheeseburger and iced tea, then crawled back into bed. The alarm she’d set on her phone woke her at four thirty. Thankfully her headache was gone which made getting ready for the rehearsal dinner a hell of a lot easier.

  Wearing the bodice-hugging burgundy lace dress with a wide tulle skirt that her mother had approved back at the bridal shop in Dallas, Ivy hurried outside. As she neared the Venus Garden Chapel next to the massive fountain in front of the hotel, she saw her parents and Celina talking to an older couple. Ivy easily assumed they were Harvey’s parents, based on the fact that the older man looked like Celina’s narcissist groom-to-be.

  Time to make that all-important proper first impression, Ivy inwardly groused.

  Her mother flashed a wide smile as she extended her hand toward Ivy, welcoming her to the intimate circle. “And this lovely creature is Celina’s older sister, Ivy. Dear, I’d like you to meet Harvey’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Hays.”

  Pulling out all the rigors of southern belle etiquette and charm, Ivy bowed demurely before politely articulating the proper niceties expected.

  “What stunning daughters you have,” Mrs. Hays gushed.

  Both Ivy and Celina flashed the obligatory retiring smiles, while Janice bestowed praises of Harvey’s kind and gentle attributes. The lies pouring from her mother’s mouth made Ivy’s stomach roll. As if reading her mind, her father, Jeff smiled and sent her a knowing wink.

  “May I have a moment with you, dear sister?” Celina asked, batting her lashes like a simpering fool.

  “Of course, my sweet.” Ivy almost choked on her own saccharine-laced reply.

  She looped her arm in Celina’s and meandered toward a pair of baroque statues, well out of earshot of the posturing parents. “I swear to god, if Harvey doesn’t get his ass down here soon, I’m going to march upstairs and drag him out by his dick.”

  Ivy started to laugh.

  “It’s not funny,” Celina fumed. “His mother has the world’s largest sequoia stuck up her ass. She’s as warm and welcoming as a barracuda. Do you know what she asked me?”

  “No, what?” Ivy asked, still chuckling.

  “She wanted to know if I was in a”—she raised her fingers in the air, using them as quotes—“delicate condition. Evidently my expression told her I didn’t have a clue what she meant, so she asked me point-blank in a nasty tone if I was pregnant. When I assured her I wasn’t, and that Harvey and I were in love, she looked at me like I’d just slapped her with a raw tuna.”

  “No way.”

  “Yes way. Thank god they recently retired to Florida. Hopefully I won’t have to see them except at Christmas. It’s all I can do to be civil to that old cow.” Celina clenched her jaw and exhaled mightily through her nose. “Oh, and Daddy Dearest isn’t any better. He hugged me and actually squeezed my ass. Harvey’s dad is a stereotypical Uncle Bad-Toucher. I’m already trying to figure out how to keep him away from the kids we haven’t even had yet.”

  Ivy peered over her sister’s shoulder and studied Mr. Hays. The old fart caught her staring at him, then smiled and sent her a wink. Ivy wanted to retch.

  “And for fuck’s sake, do not go near that lecherous old fart,” Celina warned. “He’ll probably try to toss you to the ground and mount you like a damn elk or something.”

  “Not if he wants to go back to Florida with his dick and balls intact.” Ivy smirked. “It takes a special kind of pervert to feel up your future daughter-in-law. I’m just sayin’.” Ivy sighed heavily. “Does Harvey know his dad groped you?”

  “Not yet. But he will before the night is done. Speaking of nights…how bad was yours?”

  “It wasn’t bad at all.”

  It was fant­astic…ama­zing…life-alter­ing.

  “Ours was. Harvey and I spent all night battling for the crown of Barf King or Barf Queen of Las Vegas. My stomach muscles are killing me. I’ve never puked so hard or so many times in my life. I’d like to say I won the crown, but Harvey was way more fucked up than me. My poor baby spent most of the night on the bathroom floor.”

  “Ewww.”

  “I know one thing. We won’t be drinking wine or any other liquor with dinner tonight.”

  Ivy pressed a hand to her stomach. “Me, either. I’ll stick to water.”

  “Right? We wouldn’t want to embarrass Mother, now would we?” Celina rolled her eyes and pinched her lips together to bite back a laugh. She darted a glance over Ivy’s shoulder as a look of relief swept her face. “Finally, Harvey made it. Oh, hell…he looks pissed. Now what’s wrong?”

  Turning, Ivy arched her brows when she saw the groom, red-faced and scowling.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Noble struggled to surface from the inky oblivion holding him prisoner. Fragmented images of Victor LaCroix whistling happily as he brutally severed the limbs off Gina’s bound and screaming body had plagued him as he’d slept. Rage and revulsion boiled in his veins, yet he was helpless to kill the bastard. As he forced his eyes open, the late-afternoon sun filtered in through the curtains and the taste of Ivy lay branded on his tongue. His cock turned to stone, but like fire and ice, the anger from his—or rather his twin brother’s dream—was warring with flashbacks of driving into Ivy’s silky core.

  “Dammit, Nate. Get your shit with Gina figured out. I don’t want to live your fucking nightmares, man,” Noble groused as he sat up and scrubbed a hand over his face.

  Shoving his twin’s issues aside, he fixated on the spectacular night he’d spent with the wild, willing sex kitten across the hall. In all the years he’d spent seducing and chasing pleasure with women, Noble had never experienced the level of electricity and passion he’d felt with Ivy. It was as if she’d been made for him.

  “Shut the fuck up,” he railed at the thought.

  Reluctant to dissect his sudden fascination with the girl, he paraded to the bathroom, hoping Harvey’s stupid rehearsal dinner wouldn’t drag on for hours. Noble had his hopes set on spending another night between Ivy’s thighs and discovering a million more ways to make her scream his name. And damn if he didn’t love to hear her scream.

  After taking a long, semi-cold shower, Noble stood in front of the mirror, smoothing a hand over the lapels of his suit coat. He quickly glanced at the clock and cringed. If he didn’t get his ass moving, he’d be late, giving Harvey fuel to bitch and whine. On the bus, Noble had glimpsed the insecure man beneath all the bluster and bullshit, but Harvey Hays was still an egotistical pig.

  For Noble, this wedding shit couldn’t end fast enough. But on the flip side, he wasn’t ready to go home just yet. He wanted to spend more time with Ivy. That longing filled him with unease.

  “She’s different from the girls back in Haven. That’s all it is,” he mumbled to himself as he snagged his room key and cell phone, and headed toward the door.

  Suddenly, an ominous feeling grabbed him by the throat. Stopping in mid-stride, Noble clutched his ribs as an arc of pain careened through the left side of his body. His mouth felt thick and dry and his heart was racing faster than a Bugatti.

  “What the fuck?” he groaned as the pain continued hammering into him.

  Without warning, the hairs on the back of his neck prickled. All his life he’d dealt with the sensation and instantly knew there wasn’t a damn thing wrong with him, but something horribly wrong with…

  Nate.

&nbs
p; As fear clamored through him, Noble plopped down on the bed and tried to lock the onslaught of pain while still focusing on his brother. But the agony only increased, followed by a wave of nausea that caused him to break out in a cold sweat. Whatever was happening to Nate was bad…really bad. His first inclination was that LaCroix had broken out of jail and was exacting revenge, but his twin telepathy told him this was a totally different kind of threat.

  As panic chugged, Noble pulled out his cell phone and tapped the screen just as the device buzzed with a text from Sawyer.

  In case your twin thing is going off, Nate was thrown off a horse last night. Just found him a few minutes ago. He’s busted up—bad. Flying him to Abilene Regional. Needs emergency surgery. If you’re not balls deep in some bimbo, call. I’ll fill you in.

  Slack-jawed and shaking like a leaf, Noble read the text again.

  How the hell had Nate gotten thrown from a horse? He could outride all of them.

  With trembling fingers, he punched in Sawyer’s number.

  “Don’t freak out, all right? Nate is going to be okay.” Sawyer didn’t even bother to say hello. “We’re heading to Abilene now. I’m in the Suburban with Dad, Mom, Brea, Ned, and April. Nash, Norris, and Gina are following us in her car. We should be there in about twenty minutes or so.”

  “How the hell did Nate get thrown off a horse?” Noble barked, overwrought with worry and fear.

  “He was climbing out of the saddle when a fox spooked the new gelding he was on. The horse reared back and sent Nate airborne straight into a tree.”

  “Holy shit. What’s wrong with him? My whole damn body is screaming.”

  “He’s got some broken bones, but he’s getting the medical treatment he needs. So try to block out what he’s feeling, take a deep breath, and relax.”

  “Relax? You’re fucking kidding, right? I’m hundreds of miles away, for shit’s sake!”

  A shuffling sound echoed in his ear as Sawyer complained, “He’s losing his shit. I…I can’t talk to him when he’s like this…”

  “Honey, it’s Mom. Nate’s going to be fine. Please don’t worry. There’s nothing any of us can do for him right now except pray. He’s in the hands of the Lord and the medical professionals.”

  “How can I not worry, Ma?” Noble groaned. He felt isolated and utterly helpless. “Sawyer’s text said he was thrown off yesterday but wasn’t found until a little bit ago. Is that right? He was gone all night?”

  “Yes, sweetheart. We searched for nearly twenty-four hours. Gina finally found him lying in the scrub way out by the east property line.”

  “What the hell was he doing way out there?”

  “I-I don’t know. Oh, Noble…he’s broken and bleeding…and…” His mom’s voice cracked.

  His mother’s mournful sobs gripped his heart and squeezed.

  After another couple seconds of static, Sawyer’s voice came through on the other end again. “He’s got two open fractures on the left side of his body. He broke his ulna…that’s the arm—”

  “I know what the ulna is,” Noble barked out impatiently.

  “Breathe dammit, because I’m two seconds from hanging up on your hateful ass,” Sawyer warned.

  “Don’t hang up!” Noble yelled. “Look, I’m sorry. I’m just trying to process all of this. The shock is—”

  “I know,” Sawyer replied sympathetically. “It was hard to see bones and shit sticking out of his body.”

  “Bones? You mean there’s more than one break?” Noble asked bleakly as he scrubbed a hand through his hair.

  “He fractured his tibia. Damn thing was shooting straight out of his damn jeans.” Sawyer’s voice wavered. He paused and sucked in a deep breath. “He has a big gash over his left eye. We know he hit a tree. There was blood on the bark. He lay there unconscious for nearly twenty-four hours, so I’m sure he’s got one mother of a concussion.”

  “Fuck me,” Noble murmured, blinking back the tears stinging his eyes. A thousand blades scraped his heart. His mind raced like a cyclone. “I’m gonna pack my bags and head to the airport now. Send Norris or Nash to pick me—”

  “No. You don’t need to come rushing home. There’s nothing you can do for him right now anyway. Stay in Vegas and do the wedding thing. Someone will pick you up in Dallas on Sunday.”

  “I’m not staying here. Not like this. I’m being stabbed with every fucking twitch, every arc of pain that’s blasting through him. I’m coming home!”

  “Dude! Listen to me. There’s nothing you can do for him,” Sawyer bit out in frustration. “Sit tight. As soon as we get to the hospital and find out what’s going on with him, I’ll call and update. All right?”

  “Yeah…okay,” Noble lied, placating his insistent older brother as he launched off the bed and began tossing his clothes into the duffle bag.

  Sawyer could tell him to stay in Vegas until he was blue in the face. Noble refused to listen. He was leaving, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Nate had called out to him whether consciously or not and Noble wouldn’t find peace of mind until he latched eyes on…and touched his twin.

  “Are y’all staying in Abilene with him?”

  “Mom and Dad already packed their bags and made a reservation at a hotel near the hospital. They’re going to stay until Nate’s released from the hospital,” Sawyer explained. “After Nate gets out of surgery, the rest of us will head back to the ranch and try to keep things running smoothly for the family.”

  “Okay. Call me right away when you know more…anything more.”

  “I will. Promise. Just try to stay cool and calm.”

  “Not possible.” Noble ended the call and raced to the bathroom.

  After collecting his shaving kit and tossing it into the duffle, he quickly scanned the room to make sure he hadn’t missed anything. Satisfied, he grabbed the bag and raced out into the hallway.

  The minute he saw Ivy’s door, Noble skidded to a halt. His heart sank.

  “Fuck,” he muttered.

  He’d give anything to listen to her sweet screams again, but his brother needed him. Disappointment warred with worry as he turned and jogged to the elevator. After wasting several interminable minutes checking out at the front desk, Noble raced outside and flagged down a cab. After instructing the driver to get him to the airport…fast, Noble pulled out his cell phone and called Harvey.

  When he’d explained the severity of Nate’s accident, Noble had expected a modicum of sympathy. But Harvey didn’t offer up the slightest morsel. Instead, he blew a fucking gasket. The self-centered prick held zero compassion or concern about Nate’s injuries and ripped into Noble, cursing and laying on a guilt trip so thick it paled in comparison to anything his mom could muster, for ruining his special day.

  There was a part of Noble that wanted to tell the driver to turn around just so he could plant his fist in Harvey’s hateful mouth. But he wasn’t about to waste another precious minute on the self-centered prick.

  Clearly, his apologies were being ignored, and after another thirty seconds of listening to Harvey’s verbal insults and assault, Noble lost his shit.

  “Listen, you selfish, egotistical prick! My brother…my twin brother is hurt…hurt so bad they had to fly his busted body to the fucking hospital. His life is a million times more important than your special day, so get off my dick and go fuck yourself, you festering asshole!”

  With a growl, Noble ended the call.

  In the rearview mirror, the cab driver’s eyes twinkled in amusement. “Sorry about your brother. Two more minutes and we’ll be at the airport.”

  “Thank you,” Noble said, exhaling some of the rage still bubbling inside him.

  True to his word, Noble was inside the terminal, bag in hand and forcing an affable smile to the pretty brunette behind the ticket counter. She was eyeing him as if he were a Bomb Pop. Normally, he would be flirting the woman with big brown eyes and ruby-red lips straight out of her panties. But the crushing worry weighing him down sucked all sexual desire
from his system.

  It didn’t take any acting to portray the part of an angst-ridden brother desperate to get home to his injured twin. It oozed from his pores in buckets. Unlike Harvey, the ticket agent showered him with sympathy, and forty minutes later, he handed over a brand-new boarding pass that would take him to Abilene as he strode onto the plane.

  A petite blonde flight attendant flashed him an overly welcoming smile. Visions of Ivy flooded his brain. With an inward curse, Noble ignored the woman and found his seat. After stowing his duffle and settling into his seat, he realized—like a kick to the nuts—that he hadn’t even gotten Ivy’s phone number. He’d never see that wild, beautiful siren again…never touch, taste, or feel her soft, lush body beneath him…on top of him.

  Now I’m waxing poetic like a pussy-whipped bitch.

  And it chafed.

  He couldn’t explain or rationalize why, after just one night, the fact that he’d lost Ivy filled him with dread. Noble was like silicone when it came to attachment…that shit simply slid right off him. But not with Ivy. She’d left an impression. A disturbing chill rippled through him, making him doubly glad he was leaving Vegas. The strange, unnerving connection he’d felt with her was frighteningly dangerous. God only knew what foolish promises he might have made if he’d stayed.

  He inwardly scoffed. Promises only led to disaster.

  Noble was eighteen when Sawyer had found out the love of his life, his wife, Sara, was cheating on him. Noble had had a front-row view of the ugly fights that ensued between the two, had heard the whispers in town, seen the looks of pity sent his brother’s way by the people in town. But he’d also witnessed the devastating pain, depression, and rage that had seized Sawyer. Helplessly watched his once-happy-go-lucky brother fall into a dark and empty pit of gloom and mistrust.

  He’d finally clawed his way back to the surface and eventually found love again with Brea, but Noble never forgot the toll it had taken on his brother. Those brutal memories were the crux, the cement that supported his vow to never get married. Honestly, what rational person would willingly set himself up to take such a ruthless fall?