Soft kisses on the upper swells of her breasts brought her back to reality.

“Need you from behind.” He pulled out and rolled her over, yanking her body down the table. Her hips were against the outside edge and the tips of her shoes could almost touch the floor. Almost. In this position Rory was completely at Dalton’s mercy.

Good thing she didn’t need to use any brain cells; hers were still buzzing from that outstanding orgasm.

Dalton lifted her ass cheeks and shoved back into her pussy. His hands pushed against her butt to keep her hips from slamming into the edge as he hammered into her.

“So fucking perfect how this hot cunt grips me. It owns me.”

Rory squeezed his cock on his next pass and he yelled, “Fuck.”

His fingertips tightened on her flesh a split second before he released a long shuddering groan as he came.

And came.

Dalton’s legs shook. So did his voice. “So fucking… Jesus. I can’t even come up with a word to describe that.”

Then his hand was in her hair, cranking her head so he could destroy her with a searing kiss that managed to be sexy as shit and sweet as honey. When he finally released her mouth, she sighed again.

He lightly rubbed his lips back and forth across the shell of her ear. “You rocked my universe this time, jungle girl.”

“I’m feeling a little spun out of orbit myself.”

Then in typical Dalton fashion, he tended to her. Gently lowering her to her feet. Straightening her thong and tugging her skirt back into place. Kissing her with an erotic tease as he adjusted her bustier and buttoned her blouse.

Clasping her hand in his, he headed for the elevator, but she pulled him back.

“What?”

“Does your key card work for the stairs? Because I don’t wanna parade through the lobby with sex hair.”

Dalton kissed her forehead. “Of course. Let’s go back to the room. But first…” He pushed her against the door to the stairs and planted a kiss on the side of her neck. “Thank you for tonight, Aurora. It’s been one of the best nights of my life.”

He’d rocked her to the core. But she also feared it wasn’t her specifically who’d starred in his fucking-on-a-poker-table fantasy—she was just the woman who’d helped him fulfill it. So to keep things between them light and sexy, she cooed, “Of course it’s one of the best nights of your life. You won a shit ton of cash, ate a fancy meal for free and got your rocks off.”

His entire body stiffened at her flip response.

But Rory refused to feel guilty for reminding him—and herself—that this was all fun and games.

Chapter Nineteen

In years past, Dalton had arrived at McKay family poker games with Tell. Then after they’d lost—always on purpose—they’d hit a bar, or a party, or a strip club.

Trucks lined the driveway. It appeared he was the last to arrive. Stupid to have a bout of nerves. He’d known these people all his life.

Ben answered the door before Dalton could knock. “Hey, come in. You’re just in time—we’re drawing names.” He held out a cowboy hat. “Pick a slip of paper.”

“For what?”

“Which table you start at. There’s too many of us so we’re setting up two tables. Top three winners from each table will get to the final round. Now that you’re here and there are thirteen of us…” Ben frowned. “That don’t divide evenly.”

Once again Dalton felt like the odd man out. Last to arrive, last one picked for the team, the one everyone else had to move to make room for.

Ben clapped him on the back and looked at the number on the paper. “No matter, we’ll go seven and six.”

With the exception of Ben and Keely, Dalton hadn’t seen any of his McKay cousins since he’d returned. They all seemed friendly enough, but it wasn’t like it used to be. Maybe because you’re not who you used to be. He declined a beer from Quinn, who played bartender, and opted for soda.

Keely sidled up to him for a hug. “You’re keeping yourself mighty scarce, Dalton.”

“I’ve got some stuff goin’ on.”

“Like Rory? Family gossip says you’re seeing her all official and like.”

“How in the hell do you have time to keep tabs on me when you’ve got four kids?”

“No clue. Some days are a blur. JJ and Liam have hit the terrible twos and are absolute hellions. Hellions,” she repeated. “Luckily Piper loves to tattle so I hear everything those boys try when I don’t have my eye on them.”

“What goes around, comes around, little sis,” Colt said.

“I was never that bad. Even Mom says so.” She smirked. “But it oughta be fun hearing how Jack’s afternoon went, since he’s taking all the kids to grocery store today. Even I’m not brave enough to do that.”

“That’s why it’s great to have a built-in babysitter,” Cord said. “Although Kyler don’t appreciate havin’ to stay home and watch his little brothers and sister when he’d rather be out tearin’ around.” Cord crossed his arms over his chest. “Find it odd he volunteered to help you when he’s got plenty of chores to do at home.”

“Kyler is a good kid. I’m glad to have his help. He mentioned you and AJ had another boy. Belated congrats. How old is he now?”

“Vaughn is two and a half. We keep our angel away from Keely and Jack’s twin devil boys so as to not give him any ideas,” Cord said, ducking Keely’s swat.

“Looks like the McKay ranch will be goin’ strong for another generation with all the ranch hands in training,” Dalton said.

None of them suggested that he get on the stick, get married and add to the fray, since that hadn’t exactly worked out last time.

“We’ve the table assignments, so listen up,” Kade said. “Table one will be, me, Keely, Quinn, Tell, Gavin and Colby. Table two will be Ben, Colt, Cam, Brandt, Cord, Dalton and Kane.” He pointed to Ainsley at the end of the bar. “Ainsley has volunteered to be the banker.”

“I didn’t volunteer; I was volunteered by my husband.”

“Handling money is a natural state for you, darlin’.”

Dalton wondered if Ben saw her stick her tongue out at him.

“So head over and get your chips if you haven’t yet. Buy-in is fifty bucks.”

Dalton stood in line next to Tell. He leaned in to whisper, “You playing it safe today, bro?”

“Not on your life.”

“Me neither. Get ready for the showdown between you and me in the championship round.”

“Wanna bet who comes out on top?”

“I ain’t makin’ a side wager with you, Tell.” Dalton grinned. “Be like takin’ food outta your kid’s mouth.”

“A hundred bucks says I win it all.”

Sucker. Dalton stuck out his hand. “You’re on.”

As soon as he took his seat at the table, he said, “Who’s dealing?”

“This ain’t no fancy casino game. We take turns dealing,” Kane said. “Ainsley keeps an eye on things so there’s no cheating.”

“Who would ever cheat at cards?” Cam said with a mock gasp.

“You. Which is sad considering you are an officer, sworn to uphold the law,” Colt said.

“I ain’t wearing my gun or badge now so alls fair,” Cam retorted. He rubbed his hands together with anticipation. “Let the bloodbath begin.”

A lot of trash talking happened during the game. If anyone noticed Dalton didn’t join in it wasn’t mentioned. He just played until he ran Brandt out of chips. Cam took out both Cord and Colt. Kane eliminated Ben.

They took a break to grab snacks and more drinks, although they seemed to be drinking a lot less booze than they used to.

Gavin caught Dalton by the chips and dip. “Have you heard from my daughter lately? She told me you two have been in contact over the years. And yes, she confessed she owns the house you’re living in.”

“Now why would she do that?”

“A couple of my business associates contacted me and asked, if Sierra was my heir, then why she wasn’t buying property through Daniels Development. So I did a little research and found out she owns six properties. One here, one in Casper, one in Cheyenne and three in Arizona.”

“Girl’s got ambition,” Dalton admitted.

“She’s also got a financial backer. I’m sure she used some of her inheritance from her grandparents to fund this…venture. But she’d need someone older to partner with. Someone with solid credit. I’m assuming that’s you?”

He shot a look over his shoulder and lowered his voice. “Look, Sierra is a savvy young woman. Her ideas are sound. She’s grown up in the real estate business so she’s not some wet-behind-the-ears kid earning a business degree with no practical experience. My gut instinct was to back her and it hasn’t proven to be a bad investment. Return on investments are slow at this point, but I didn’t give her any capital I couldn’t afford.”

Gavin’s eyes remained skeptical. “Your brothers—no one in the McKay family has any idea how well-funded you are, do they?”

“Nope. And I’d like to keep it that way. You should be proud of Sierra. The whole reason she’s been doin’ this is to prove to you she’s a self-starter and she’s qualified to run the business with you.”

“Thank you for saying that. I’m damn proud of that girl and she’s a good judge of character.”

“What’re you two whispering about over here?” Tell asked.

“Issues I had fixing Rory’s doggie door. Gavin installed it six months ago and we’re brainstorming on how we can repair the broken seal,” Dalton lied with a straight face. “Why? What’d you think we were talkin’ about?”

“The two of you ganging up on me in the final round because I’m the real threat in this contest.”