Chapter 4
Devyn couldn’t see out her rearview mirror, but despite that, she couldn’t stop smiling.
She’d never met anyone quite like Lucky.
She knew her brother’s teammates were good men, but she’d somehow still expected them to be like a lot of other alpha guys she’d known over the years.
Way into sports, a little condescending to anyone they thought was “weaker” than them, and never allowing anyone to see anything that could seem even slightly like a flaw.
Instead, Grover’s teammates were nothing like what she’d imagined for badass special forces soldiers.
They were protective for sure. And didn’t hesitate to stand up to anyone who was being a jerk.
But they were also funny. And not scared to show their feelings.
They’d invited her into their inner circle without reservations and with open arms. As had their girlfriends—now wives.
All of them were, collectively, the biggest reason why she hadn’t moved on.
Texas was just supposed to be a short stay while she figured out what she wanted to do with her life next. Where she wanted to live.
Then there was Lucky.
She supposed she should call him by his given name, Troy, but she’d heard Grover talk about his team for so long now, it felt weird to call him anything but Lucky.
At first she’d assumed he had the nickname because he got lucky in bed a lot, but Grover had explained it was because the man had the most amazing luck with just about everything.
From the first time she’d seen Lucky, Devyn had felt an attraction, but she’d fought it hard.
The more she got to know him, however, the harder he was to resist. She’d been able to keep him at arm’s length so far, because she knew she’d be leaving eventually, and starting a relationship with anyone would be foolish.
But the attraction always remained, simmering beneath the surface.
All of her new girlfriends had noticed. And after he’d made sure she’d gotten home safely when she was upset yesterday, and considering how he didn’t push her to talk…
it was more and more difficult to tell herself they could only be friends.
She had a feeling that when she saw him with the dog and cat he’d just adopted, she’d be a goner.
That was a level of compassion she hadn’t expected, not from a special forces soldier.
Which was ridiculous; even though he was a Delta, he still had feelings.
And she could tell even over the phone that Lucky would do whatever it took for his new pets to feel comfortable.
He was already completely spoiling them, if all the crap she’d bought was any indication.
How could she not fall for a man who went all gooey-eyed over a pair of strays?
The bottom line was that she couldn’t. She wasn’t ready to tell him all her secrets, but she had a feeling he could easily convince her to open up to him before much longer.
Telling anyone about Spencer, and what she’d gone through back in Missouri, could be the death knell for her family.
Her sickness had already almost broken up her parents.
She wasn’t all that close to her older sisters, who’d admitted once that they’d been irritated with her for getting all the attention when they were younger.
Oh, they all got on pretty well now…but there was still that niggling thought in the back of Devyn’s head that she was a pain in everyone’s asses. The source of too much trouble.
And if she confided in Grover, everyone would take sides, and it would be a disaster. It was up to her to keep her mouth shut.
If Spencer wouldn’t get help, that was on him; she was done being his go-to girl.
When she pulled into Lucky’s parking lot, she parked in a visitor’s space not too far from his truck. Deciding to leave all the stuff she’d bought in her car for now, Devyn headed for the door.
Oddly, her skin seemed to be tingling. She’d never been inside his place.
He’d texted the address and invited her to come over one night when his team and their women were hanging out watching a football game, but she’d declined.
She’d still been trying to keep her distance from everyone at that point.
To keep from getting too attached. But that had been a huge failure. They’d all snuck under her radar.
Especially Lucky.
“Hey,” he said, opening the door before she could knock or ring the bell.
Devyn jumped in surprise.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you. I didn’t want Angel or Whiskers to freak out if they heard the doorbell or a knock. Come on in.”
With every expression of concern for his new pets, Lucky wormed his way further into her heart.
Devyn walked inside, looking around curiously.
The small foyer led into an open room. A dining area was on the right side of the foyer, where Lucky had a fairly large table filling the space, which was a surprise.
There were eight chairs around the oval oak table.
A laptop was sitting open on one end, with napkins and an open bag of chips next to it.
“Sorry, I didn’t have time to clean up before you got here,” Lucky told her, obviously following her gaze.
“It’s fine. You didn’t have to clean up for me. I’m just Grover’s sister.”
“You aren’t just anything,” Lucky said immediately.
Devyn stared at him for a long moment. She wanted to say something witty, something flirty, but her mind was a complete blank. So she turned her attention back to the house instead.
“This is the kitchen. It kind of sold me on the place,” Lucky said, gesturing toward the huge area.
A granite-covered bar bisected the big space, and she couldn’t help but be impressed.
Whoever had designed the kitchen hadn’t spared any expense.
The oven was restaurant quality; she saw an ice maker under the counter as well.
The refrigerator was massive—much bigger than a normal fridge.
All the appliances were stainless steel, and the sink was one of those barn sinks, deep, and it looked as if it was made out of concrete.
Devyn wasn’t the best cook, though she enjoyed making complicated dishes every now and then. But this kitchen was a bit intimidating.
“The size of the kitchen took away from some of the living area, but I love it. The pantry is huge too, which means I can buy a lot of stuff in bulk so I don’t have to go to the store as much,” Lucky said.
“It’s amazing,” Devyn told him.
They walked into the comfortable-looking living area. There was a leather couch against one wall, a bookshelf stuffed with CDs and books, and a large coffee table. A recliner rounded out the room. “No TV?” she asked.
Lucky shrugged. “I’ve got one upstairs in my bedroom. I don’t watch a lot of television. I prefer to listen to music or read.”
She liked that. She felt the same way.
“Come on, you’ve got to see the back deck,” Lucky said.
Devyn followed behind Lucky as he led the way through the living room. They entered a small laundry room before he opened a back door. He gestured for her to precede him, and Devyn gasped as she walked out onto the deck.
They were on the ground level, but the land dipped slightly and the view was as beautiful as anything she’d ever seen. There was a fence around the yard, but because of the way the land sloped down before it leveled out, she could see over the fence to the wilderness beyond the property.
“Wow!” Devyn exclaimed.
“Yeah. The kitchen sold me, and this view solidified my decision. I probably paid way too much for this place, but I couldn’t resist. And because I’ve got the end unit, my yard is much bigger than the others. It’s as wide as it is long.”
“This is awesome. Is that part of Fort Hood?” Devyn asked, gesturing toward the large expanse of land in front of them.
“Yeah. Which means no one can build a huge housing complex back there and ruin this view,” Lucky said with a smile.
This part of Texas wasn’t exactly known for its lovely vistas, but he had truly lucked out with his townhouse. She looked over at him. “Another one of your lucky finds?” she asked.
He smiled sheepishly. “I can’t help it if I’m lucky. The seller was devastated to have to get rid of the place, but his mom was sick out in California, and he needed to move out there to take care of her.”
Devyn simply shook her head.
“Come on, I’ll show you the rest of the place. I’ve got Angel and Whiskers upstairs in my bathroom for now.”
Devyn nodded. She couldn’t believe she’d almost forgotten why she was there. “Let me run out to my car to get my medical bag. I brought it just in case.”
Lucky followed her out to her Mini Cooper and grabbed as many bags of dog and cat supplies as he could. He stuffed a tan, fluffy dog bed under an arm. “Good choice,” he told her.
Devyn smiled, relieved. She’d spent way too much time agonizing over which dog bed to get. She finally settled on the tan one because the clerk helping her had recommended it. He said he had one, and his dog literally slept in it all day.
They went back into the house and Lucky put everything down but the bed, heading up the stairs. Devyn couldn’t help but stare at his perfect ass as she followed. She hoped she wasn’t drooling.
He quickly gave her a tour of the two bedrooms upstairs, and the functional yet boring guest bathroom. Then he led her into the master bedroom.
Devyn would’ve known it was his without being told whose townhouse she was in.
She was immediately surrounded by his scent. It was subtle, but she’d always associate the smell of his body wash with Lucky.
Standing in his personal space felt so…intimate. He slept here. Watched TV. Probably masturbated.
God, she was being weird. She never thought about that kind of thing with anyone else. She’d gotten tours of other houses and sex hadn’t ever crossed her mind. But with one glance at his king-size bed, she couldn’t think of anything but sex.
His covers were mussed, as if he’d just climbed out from under them—
“Dev?” Lucky asked. “You okay?”