“This is James,” Brad introduced his twin.
“Nice to meet you,” James said and nodded in her direction before turning his attention back to his brother. “Are you coming?”
“Mrs. Harper told me to look after Carla and make sure she got settled in,” Brad replied.
“I see you are making the most of it,” James said.
“What?” Brad protested. “I’m just having a coffee.”
“Sure,” James replied. “Well don’t be too long, I need your help out there. I’m not spending the day working my ass off while you sit here enjoying yourself.”
Carla glanced at him. He was stripped to the waist and beads of sweat trickled down his muscular torso. It was some sight and she couldn’t stop staring. Suddenly it was thoughts of her mouth on naked skin that was filling her head and she tried to clear her mind. She raised her gaze to see that James was watching and the blush spread across her face again that she’d been caught staring.
“I’ll be out to help you when I finish my coffee,” Brad said.
“OK,” James replied as he glanced at his twin brother.
He turned to look at Cara again and she glanced up when he smiled at her.
“I’ll see you around,” he told her.
“Yeah, sure,” she replied and watched as he walked back out the kitchen.
“Drink up and I’ll show you the room your aunt told me to put you in,” Brad said.
Carla nodded her head and raised her mug to take a drink. In a couple of minutes they were both finished and Brad got the mug from her to put it in the sink with his. He leaned down to pick up her bag when he returned to the table and she found herself admiring a taut ass again when she followed him out of the kitchen.
She’d dreaded coming to the ranch, but things were definitely looking up. Being virtually stranded in the middle of nowhere with two handsome ranch hands seemed like an intriguing prospect and she wondered what it would bring her. They walked right to the back of the property, where Brad stopped at a door.
“You’re in here,” he said when he opened it.
He half blocked the entrance and Carla needed to squeezes past him. It made her heartbeat race and there was no doubt in her mind that it was deliberate. He held up the bag and their fingers touched as she reached for it.
“It’s nice to have you here,” he said as he let go.
Carla couldn’t stop trembling as her gaze came up to meet his.
“Thanks,” she said.
The urge came over her to reach out and brush the untidy fringe back from his forehead, but she shrugged it off as a silly thought. Brad showed no urgency to leave and their eyes remained locked together in a moment that was giving her butterflies in her stomach. He finally brought his hand up to brush the blonde locks back himself and smiled.
“I better go before my brother loses patience,” he said.
“Oh yeah…, sure,” Carla replied.
She watched as he turned away to walk back along the hallway and let her gaze settle on his denim-clad butt again. Her breath came out slowly and it was only when Brad glanced over his shoulder that she looked away then slammed the door shut. She leaned back against it and tried to calm her racing heart. Things were definitely on the verge of becoming interesting and a grin spread across her face as she stepped across to the bed and put her bag down to unpack it.
Chapter Three
“Aunt Katherine, it’s so nice to see you again,” Carla said when she walked in the living room.
She walked across to give the older woman a hug then backed off.
“How was your trip?” her aunt asked.
“It was fine,” Carla replied. “How was yours?”
Katherine rolled her eyes.
“Don’t ever get involved with men and if you do, definitely don’t get married,” she let out. “It will only end in tears. It seems to be taking forever to get things finalized with the divorce.”
“You didn’t manage to sort everything out then?” Carla asked.
Katherine let out a sigh.
“No, not quite,” she answered. :”We’re still in dispute about some of our assets, but hopefully one more trip should see an end to it and get our signatures on a document that will mean we can go our separate ways.”
Carla wanted to ask more to keep the conversation on her aunt, but didn’t get the chance.
“But that’s enough about me,” Katherine said. “It seems you are having problems.”
“No…, not really,” Carla replied hesitantly.
“That’s not what your parents told me,” her aunt went on.
“What did they tell you?” Carla asked.
“That you were grounded after coming home drunk from a party they didn’t even know you’d gone to,” Katherine went on. “And when that punishment didn’t work that they needed to take firmer action to try and help you sort out your life.”
It seemed her parents didn’t mention anything about the incident in the store. Carla didn’t know what to say and just remained silent.
“Youngsters have things far too easy these days,” Katherine went on. “It wasn’t like that in my day. We were expected to work hard, respect our parents and adhere to the rules they set.”
“I do,” Carla let out.
She saw the disapproving expression that crossed her aunt’s face.
“If that was true, you wouldn’t be here,” Katherine said.
“But…” Carla tried to interrupt. It didn’t surprise her that her aunt was in no mood to listen.
“Now that you are here and under my roof,” Katherine went on in a stern tone. “I expect you to abide by the rules I set. Is that understood?”
“Yes,” Carla replied.
“This is not a vacation for you and I expect you to roll up your sleeves and get stuck in to help run the ranch,” Katherine went on.
Carla almost let out a sigh although she managed to hold it in. She only arrived that day, but was already missing her life in NYC. Her previous visits to the ranch only convinced her that she was a city girl at heart and staying on a ranch was the complete opposite of how she wanted to live her life.
“What chores will I be expected to do?” she asked.
“Whatever is needed,” Katherine went on. “I take it you met Brad and James this afternoon when you arrived.”
The mention of the names sent a shiver rippling down her spine and she nodded her head.
“They started working for me a couple of months ago and have got into the routine of what I expect of them to run this place,” Katherine said. “An extra pair of hands never goes amiss, however, so you can go out with them each day and help with the work.”
“OK,” Carla agreed.
“The pair of them are experienced ranch hands and know what they’re doing,” Katherine went on. “So just take your lead from them and do exactly what they tell you.”
“Is there anything else I need to know?” Carla asked.
Her aunt shook her head.
“I’ll be around for the next few days to keep an eye on things,” she said. “I expect you to earn your keep while you are here, so just make sure you get in the routine. It’s been a long few days for me and I just want to go to bed and get some rest. I suggest you do the same and get ready for the six o’clock start tomorrow. I’ll see you in the kitchen for breakfast at that time.”
Carla grimaced at the mention of such an early start to the day, but it was about to become her life and she just needed to get on with it. Her aunt asked after her parents and they chatted for a few minutes longer before the conversation came to an end. She went back to her room and set the alarm clock on the bedside cabinet to five thirty.
“That’s the middle of the bloody night,” she complained as she put the clock back down.
She decided to just have a shower and go to bed, so got a towel out of the wardrobe and left her bedroom to walk in the direction of the bathroom. The door was locked to show that someone was inside and she sho
ok her head as she turned to walk back. She’d barely taken two steps when the sound of the door being unlocked stopped her.
“I’ve finished,” James said.
Carla’s eyes opened wide as she looked to see him with no more than a towel wrapped around his waist. This time the trickles of water sliding down his muscled chest weren’t sweat, but the sight of them brought the idea of kissing his naked skin back to her mind. The flush of warmth blossomed on her cheeks as she stared and she couldn’t stop. She lifted her gaze to see the grin on his face and it flustered her.
“Oh…, umm, great,” she said and pointed at the open door. “I was just…, you know.”
“Going to have a shower?” he asked and laughed.
“Yeah,” she replied.
“Well, like I say, I am finished,” James told her. “So be my guest.”
He lifted a hand to run it back over his head and Carla saw the way it made his muscles ripple. The heat wasn’t only on her face now as she moved forward and she caught the fresh scent of shower cream when she passed him.
“Your aunt told me you have to do what I tell you,” he said and Carla turned to see a grin spread wider across his face. “For work I mean.”
She knew he was teasing her and there was an excitement to the cheeky comment that she couldn’t ignore. It showed his interest in her and that brought out her nerves.
“Yeah,” she replied. “Aunt Katherine told me too.”
“Well, I’ll look forward to you being a good girl,” he went on.
The blush on Carla’s face grew stronger and she didn’t know what to say as they stared at each other. The tension rose until the sound of a door opening broke the moment.
“I…, I better have that shower,” she let out hesitantly.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” James said.
Carla waited a second or two then glanced over her shoulder. James was walking away and she stared at the solid muscles of his impressive physique. Her gaze slid down his naked back to the way the towel stretched tightly across his buttocks.
“Oh shit,” she let out under her breath when she finally turned away and walked in the bathroom.
She might hate the thought of working on the ranch, but being under the control of the twins was definitely going to make it interesting. The hallway was empty when she came back out of the bathroom to return to her bedroom. She put on her nightgown and switched off the light to lie in the quiet darkness. It was thoughts of the twins that were on her mind as she tried to fall asleep and she found herself wondering which of them she would prefer losing her virginity to. It was a fantasy that she suspected was going to stick in her mind for as long as she was at the ranch.
Getting up for the early start the next morning was torture and she was still half asleep when she walked in the kitchen.
“What do you want to eat,” her aunt asked.
“I’ll just have coffee,” she replied as she walked over to the pot.
The hit of caffeine helped to get her fully awake and she finished the first cup quickly. She returned to pot to get a second then watched as the twins arrived and demolished a huge breakfast. They were on their feet and ready to go as she was draining the last of the coffee from her cup and she got up to join them.
“Have a good day,” Katherine told them when they moved to the door to leave.
“We will,” James replied.
They left the ranch house and walked over to the stables. The smell hit Carla as they stepped inside the building and it made her grimace.
“Good country odor to start the day,” James teased her when he saw the expression on her face.
“If you say so,” she replied.
He laughed as he moved to the wall to get a couple of pitch forks.
“I’ll get the horses out and you two clean out the stalls and put in fresh straw,” he told them.
“Not your usual start to the day,” Brad teased her as they stood watching the horses being led outside.
Carla let out a sigh.
“There aren’t many stables where I live in the city,” she replied and shook her head.
“You’ll get used to it,” he told her.
Carla wasn’t sure she would, but followed his lead as he moved in one of the stalls and began cleaning it out. An hour later both men were stripped to the waist and sweating. She was finding that being on the ranch did have its attractions and the sight of their muscled bodies was something she could definitely get used to. Not that anything more than looking was likely to happen. Her aunt was prone to dropping in and checking on progress from time to time.
“Does she always keep such a close eye on you?” Carla asked.
Brad laughed as he nodded his head.
“I’m sure you know that this ranch is her pride and joy,” he replied. “She likes to make sure that things are being done properly. It doesn’t matter where we are working, she always checks in with us a few times a day.”
They carried on working to complete the job of cleaning the stables and the hard work curtailed any conversation. It was only when the horses were back in the stalls and the three of them were sitting in the sunshine at the front of the building that they really started talking again. Carla enjoyed a long drink from a bottle of water and after wiping her mouth, it was her that spoke first.
“How long will the two of you remain working here?”
“As long as your aunt needs us,” Brad replied. “Hopefully that will be for a while yet.”
She was hoping the same thing.
“Do the two of you always stick together?” she asked.
“Sure,” James replied. “We’ve always worked as a team and have no plans to change that.”
The dirty thought came in Carla’s head and she couldn’t resist asking the suggestive question.
“Do you do absolutely everything together?”
Brad laughed as he looked at her.
“Pretty much,” he said. “Why do you ask?”
“No reason,” she answered quickly. “I’ve just never known twins before.” She glanced up to see they were both staring at her and wondered what was going on in their minds. “What?” she protested as they continued to look in her direction.
“I hope your aunt doesn’t know you like to tease men,” Brad joked.
“I am not teasing,” Carla let out, but there was no stopping the flush of red coloring her cheeks as her embarrassment welled up.
“Uh huh,” James chipped in. “And you were asking if we do everything together because…”
He left the comment hanging in the air and she knew she was getting out of her depth. She sprang to her feet and attempted to change the subject.
“What’s next today?” she asked.
“Maybe we should be asking you,” Brad teased her. “I’ve heard that city girls are full of great ideas for having some fun.”
The cheeky comment made her shiver and she held her breath as she stared at the two men. It was the thought of being with one of them that filled her mind and she wondered what they would say if she told them she was still a virgin. The two men stayed silent as their gazes remained on her and she knew they were waiting to see what she said. Fortunately for her it was another voice that broke the silence.
“Are the stables cleaned out?” Katherine shouted.
Carla turned to see her aunt’s gaze on them.
“We just finished,” James shouted back.
“Well, come on in and have some lunch before you do anything else,” Katherine went on.
They watched as she turned and walked back in the direction of the ranch house.
“Maybe you could tell us about the fun you like another time,” Brad said quietly as Carla walked past him towards her aunt.
She said nothing in reply and that first day on the ranch set the tone for what followed. The cheeky flirting between her and the twins continued, but there was no doubt that her aunt was keeping an eye on them and it meant there was little chance of the teasing leading
on to anything else. Being caught in a compromising situation would only bring the wrath of Katherine down on them and none of them was prepared to risk that. That meant they kept things under control at all times.
It was still fun being in the middle of two handsome men and have them vying for her attention when the chance arose, but there was also a frustration to the situation. It got her hot and bothered every night in bed as her fantasies came to life, but she started to think that her fingers were the only relief she was going to get on the ranch. She knew she was ready for the next step and the desire to lose her virginity grew stronger. It made her think more and more about which of the twins she would prefer to be her first lover, but she liked them both and knew she wouldn’t complain to being alone with either of them.
Bent Over A Barrel Bundle: Western Cowboy Romance (Full Length Novels) Page 50
