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  into her bedroom.

  “What happened to politely knocking and asking for entry?” Not that she cared.

  Seeing this man made her heart leap in excitement. He could enter anything of hers

  any time.

  “I was hoping to catch you naked.”

  She had just had a shower and was dressed in a robe. “Sorry, fully clothed. “

  “Damn. I’ll have to try another bedroom.” He kicked the door shut behind him.

  “How are you feeling?”

  The look of concern in his eyes was sweet. It had been a long time since anyone

  truly cared about her. She felt that from Evan. They may not have known each other

  that long but what she did know about him was he was a god man. “I’m perfectly fine

  so no fussing.”

  “People are worried about you.”

  “Just people?” She sat down on the bed. Cass was naked under the robe. Her

  thoughts went to the last time they had sex. She licked her lips in anticipation.

  “Me. I’m worried.” Evan sat down beside her, his hand coming to rest on her

  knee. “You know I feel like I know everything about you, but I really don’t.”

  Cass felt that way too. He had been thrust into her life and taken a hold on her

  heart with such sweet simplicity that she hadn’t bothered to question much else.

  “What do you want to know?”

  “Do you have family?”

  “No.” Her parents had died over ten years ago in a car crash and she had no

  siblings.

  “I’m sorry,” He bumped his shoulder against hers and leaned into her.

  Lordy, he’s sweet. “People die. It happens. I miss them a lot but I move on.”

  “You’re a tough little thing.”

  Cass shrugged. “I’m realistic and I’m hardly ‘little’.”

  Evan grinned. “You’re womanly.”

  “A nice word for chunky.” She smiled back at him.

  “I prefer voluptuous.”

  She dropped her hand to his thigh and stroked the firm flesh under the denim. He

  smelled so clean, fresh and manly. Hunger rose up within her. “You’re a nice man.”

  “Be careful—”

  “Why?” Her hand moved higher up his leg.

  “Because you touching me makes me want to do all sorts of stuff to you.”

  That was the plan. “I could do stuff.” It was crazy how fast their relationship had

  changed from strangers to lovers. Relationship. Her mind went back to what she first

  thought of Evan at the airport. Her hand moved up to rest on his zippered crotch.

  Evan drew in a deep breath. “You’re injured.”

  “It’s just a bump on the head.” She pushed against the bulge contained within the

  denim.

  His hand went down to rest on hers. “Cassie—”

  She pushed it away. This was her time to play. She was in charge. “I’m fine.”

  She reached for his zipper and pulled down. The head of his dick was outlined nicely

  under the control of his jocks.

  “I shouldn’t—”

  “I can. Lie back and think of Mundabucka.” She gave him a gentle push and he

  fell back, without further encouragement, on the bed. Cass tugged at his underwear to

  free his dick. It jumped out, her hand encircling the shaft. “Nice.”

  Evan groaned. “You make it hard for me to be a gentleman.”

  “That you’re a hard gentleman is what I desire right at this moment so it works

  for me.” She leaned forward and licked the tip of the swollen cock head. He growled

  in response. It was sexy and primal and a turn on. This man was under her control and

  she liked it.

  “Cassie?”

  “Shush,” she murmured softly as her mouth covered his flesh and sucked him

  inside. She had never wanted to do this to any other man. While intercourse was

  extremely intimate, sucking dick was even more so because it came down to raw need

  that couldn’t be sated any other way but in its purest form.

  Evan bucked upwards. “Bloody hell!”

  His response gave her pleasure and spurred her on to suck him hard as one hand

  fondled his balls, loving the way they felt in her hand.

  Evan stroked her hair, his eyes closed. “Cassie?”

  She kept sucking and licking. She wasn’t about to be deterred in her gift of

  pleasure.

  “Cassie?” Evan pushed her head gently away. “Keep doing that and I’ll come in

  your mouth.”

  She trembled at the thought and licked her lips. “I’d like that.”

  His response was half groan, half chuckle. “What am I going to do with you?”

  “Anything you like.” Her hand wound around his shaft and stroked up and down.

  “Cassie—”

  “Please—”

  “Have you ever?”

  “No. I’ve never wanted to until you.”

  His gaze was bright and intense on hers. “You drive me wild.”

  “That’s the plan. Now, be a good man and let me suck you off.” His hips bucked

  up at that. It made Cass smile to see how much she turned him on. Once more her

  mouth descended on his hard flesh and she slid her mouth up and down his wet dick.

  She wanted to taste him. She wanted every little bit of Evan she could get in her life.

  She could hear his breathing quicken. She matched it with her mouth, one hand

  wrapping firmly along his shaft and pumping in unison.

  When he came, semen shot into her mouth. It tasted bitter yet musky as she

  swallowed down the essence of the man. She kept her lips wrapped around his flesh

  until he gently pushed her away.

  Cass sat up and smiled at Evan. He held her arms out to her. She snuggled down

  close beside him . So this is happiness? I like it.

  “How’s your head?” His fingers stroked back the hair from her face.

  “How’s your head?” Her fingers rested on his dick.

  “Satisfied. Very satisfied.”

  “Good.” She was pleased to have given him something in return for all that he

  had brought to her life.

  “I love you, Cassie.”

  She stiffened. Wow. “I—” It would have been so easy to say those words back to

  him because she felt them deeply and yet she hesitated . Is this all too soon? Is it just

  sex? Am I being stupid analyzing this? She was pretty sure she was in love with Evan

  but instinct had taught her to go with her gut. Her gut, at that moment, said ‘be happy

  but be careful.’ “Um—”

  Evan chuckled. “I can wait.”

  “For what?”

  “For you to admit you love me.”

  Was it that obvious? She turned in his arms to look at him. “I barely know you.”

  He smiled at that. She slapped his chest. “Okay, yes, in the biblical sense I know you

  very well but not in the setting up home forever and ever until death do we part

  sense.”

  “Do you want to get married one day?”

  “Yes, sure but I never thought about it seriously until—”

  “Until now? With me?” Evan pulled her tightly against his side.

  “Yeah.” Him. Me. It was extremely doable. But fools rush in where angels fear to tread. Cass knew she was no angel.

  “Scary?”

  “Yeah.” Scary nice.

  “Give it some thought. You could do worse.”

  That made her laugh. “Ah yes, the quintessential romantic proposal. Marry me

  because you could do worse.”

  “I’m happy to propose.”

  Her eyes widened. Evan
sounded like he meant it. Her heart beat madly. Now?

  “When you’re ready.”

  She felt a surge of disappointment. Of course he wasn’t going to do it now,

  dummy. “What if I’m not?”

  “You will be.” He sounded confident.

  “How do you figure?”

  “It’s fate that you, a city chick, end up in the back of beyond with a country boy

  like me.”

  “Maybe…”

  “You bet maybe.” Evan pulled her close and they drifted off to sleep.

  Chapter Eleven

  “What the hell is going on?” Cass raced out to the reception desk when she heard

  yelling. Flo was pulling on Evan’s arm while Jo was yanking at Murdo’s. It was early

  evening and it was unusual for anyone to be at reception.

  “He tried to take the key.” Flo had the metal key in her free hand.

  “I thought Deputy Bob had that?” Flo had the key? Why? Mundabucka was so

  confusing.

  Evan explained. “Nah, Flo didn’t have it. I did. We just told people Deputy Bob

  had the key, compass and map to make whoever hit you look there first. I kept the key

  hidden in the room I use and Phil hid the map and compass. He found it because he’s

  always been sneaky and doesn’t hesitate to go through people’s things. ”

  “You have nice panties, Cass,” Murdo said, winking at her.

  “And now I have to burn them all.” The thought of his hands touching anything

  of hers was repulsive. Cass barked at Murdo. “So why did you try and take the key?”

  “Pretty obvious, girlie,” he murmured, breaking free from Jo’s hold.

  City chick and now girlie? Grrrr…“You admit you hit me and left me for dead in

  the trunk?”

  “No, I didn’t. That wasn’t me. But I’ll admit I wanted the key to try and find the

  gold.”

  Greedy bastard. “Without the map and compass?”

  “I figured the key was unique enough that I could work out what it fitted into.”

  Cass shook her head. “That’s crazy. It could fit anything, anywhere. It may not

  even fit the elusive treasure chest you think the gold is in. Hell, there may not even be

  any gold. It would be a cosmic joke.”

  Murdo shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not.”

  “But you thought you’d try anyway?”

  “No harm in it.” His smile was roguish.

  Cass looked from one man to the other. “I don’t get how you two are cousins.”

  Murdo smiled. “Yes, it’s difficult to work out, isn’t it, especially as I’m a better

  lover than he is.”

  “Using your own hand doesn’t make that so,” Cass quipped tartly.

  “He’s lying about the key. You know more than you’re letting on.” Evan sounded

  adamant on that.

  “Me, dear cousin?”

  “Yeah.” Evan moved towards his cousin. “If you did hurt Cass, I’ll k—”

  The rest of the sentence was drowned out by the sound of an explosion.

  “What the hell?” Cass was agog.

  Flo went immediately to Jo’s side. “It sounds like it came from down near the old

  railway museum. Do you think one of the old engines has blown up?”

  Evan pulled Cass close to him. “Stay here.”

  “Not bloody likely. People may need help.” And I want to see what the hell is

  going on. For a small town, it was all happening.

  “We’ll rally the emergency troops.” Flo and Jo bustled off.

  Cass could not even begin to imagine what the Mundabucka emergency troops

  look like. Did Phil also have a hand, pardon the pun, in that too?

  “Leave town, Murdo and I will find you and beat the crap out of you.”

  Murdo laughed at Evan’s words. “I have nothing to hide or fear.”

  In the evening chaos of people in the street, Cass and Evan got separated. Cass

  looked around for him but in the sea of faces, his was not to be found. For a small

  town, everyone in Mundabucka was out on the street trying to see what happened. It

  was during this chaos that Cass was grabbed from behind and a hessian bag shoved

  over her head. She yelled and screamed and fought like a woman possessed but to no

  avail. No one heard her cries in the noise around them.

  When the bag removed, Cass blinked and looked around. It looked like she was

  in an old attic somewhere in Mundabucka. She felt it had to be the same town as she

  had been carried like a sack of potatoes for a short distance, up some stairs and

  dumped on the wooden floor she now knelt on. She looked up at the roof. It was high,

  almost too high. Cass guessed it was a steeple. She looked to her left at the stairs that

  went down and then veered off on an angle to go up. “This is the old church in the

  main street,” she mumbled to herself. All things considered, it was better than being

  squashed into a trunk. At least she knew where she was and how to escape.

  “Hey, there!”

  “Phil?” She scrambled to her feet. What was he doing there? Had he come to help

  her? Then he smiled at her. Suddenly Phil had his two front teeth. “Nice teeth.” It was

  then that she knew who hit her in the head.

  “Money can buy you stuff.”

  “They look too white.” Fancy Phil being a criminal mastermind.

  “The dentist said it takes a while for them to look natural.”

  She shrugged at that and looked him up and down. He was a shabby little man.

  No muscle, just rat thin limbs. “You didn’t want to get prosthetic fingers?” Cass

  figured it was better to chat and keep him calm rather than go straight for his throat

  and learn nothing about what was going on.

  Phil shook his head. “Nah, I like to freak people out with my hands. It puts them

  on edge. I enjoy that. ” He smiled again. “By the way, thanks so much for finding the

  key, map and compass. I was looking everywhere but the obvious places.”

  “Well, sure, and I can’t thank you enough for the blow on the head and the

  locking me in the trunk—not. That wasn’t particularly nice, Phil. I’m not sure how

  Deputy Bob would feel about that.”

  Phil waved his hand in dismissal. “Oh, I knew Evan would save you. I thought it

  was neat that I helped in the rescue.”

  Neat? Did grown men say that? “And that explosion was your doing?”

  “Yeah. I couldn’t get the damn key from Evan.” He tilted his head and looked at

  her sideways as if analyzing her. “You know I think he kinda likes you.”

  “I thought that,” she murmured, trying to think of some brilliant plan but none

  was coming to mind. “What was on the map?”

  “It’s such a shame I have to hurt you now. I would have liked to see him settle

  down and have kids.”

  “You don’t have to hurt me.”

  “Would you shut up about me? I want to stay in Mundabucka. People may get

  pissed if they thought I hit women on the head for stuff.”

  “Sure, I’d be quiet.” Not.

  He looked surprised and relieved. “Really?”

  This was no criminal mastermind with razor sharp wits. She lifted her hand up

  and crossed her fingers over her heart. “Absolutely.”

  “Well—”

  It was then Adele appeared, feet stomping and mouth pouting. “Hurry up! I’m

  waiting! Get rid of her already.”

  That Adele clearly wanted her demise was not as shocking as this pair together.

  “You and Adele? Seriously? You
let him touch you?” Ick.

  “Hey, I’m not that bad.”

  “Yeah.” Cass looked him up and down. “Yeah, you are.”

  Adele glared at her. “You don’t understand the power of gold.”

  “I understand there is not enough gold in the world for me to want to see Phil

  naked let alone have sex with him.”

  “Pfft! I have no time to waste with you.” Adele turned to Phil. “Kill her.”

  Phil looked at Adele in shock. “Kill her?”

  “She’s knows our secret.”

  “Yeah, but killing Cass seems extreme. Okay, so she’s a little rude but—”

  “Do you want me?” Adele’s eyes bored into him. “Do you crave what only I can

  give you?”

  “Yes, but—”

  “You know I can do things to you no other woman can. Things that make you

  weep and beg for more.”

  Cass gagged. “Oh, pardon me while I puke.”

  “Shut up!” Adele yelled at Cass, her fingers automatically going to give her the

  eye.

  Shutting up wasn’t going to happen. “You shut up and shove your finger up your

  ass!” She didn’t fear Adele. Cass also figured the longer she kept this pair talking and

  in one place, the easier it would be for someone to find her. It was dark outside. The

  light was on, shining brightly in the room they were in. She guessed it would be

  unusual for the church to be lit up so when no services were on. “I don’t get it, Adele.

  Your family is rich. You could have anything or anyone you want. Why steal? And

  why in god’s name Phil?”

  “Hey!” He was offended.

  “My family maintains a face of wealth. Everything we have we don’t own. We

  have massive debt. There hasn’t been money for a very long time. People just assume

  what they want to.”

  “Essentially, you look rich because you borrow big. Pretty shallow of you.”

  “Don’t judge us!” Adele spat out at her.

  “Oh, I understand you like money and I understand you like it so much you’d

  screw Phil for it.” She looked at the man in question. “Well, come on, you had to

  wonder why all of a sudden she wanted in your pants.” Cass turned back to Adele,

  feeling all Miss Marple like. “And then there’s Murdo. The bit on the side.” Not that

  Cass thought Murdo would care. He seemed the type to shag anything that stood still

  long enough.

  “One man is not enough for a real woman,” Adele told Cass, her hand toying