Hard to Hold

by Nicole Edwards

  From this distance, Amy had no idea who had hit the most targets.

  While her stomach churned with excitement, she waited for them to join her.

  “Who won?” she asked, glancing between the two of them.

  “I did,” Wolfe noted.

  “How do you know?”

  “Because I got the shots off first.”

  “Oh.” Amy frowned. “I thought it would depend on who hit the target the most.”

  “We both hit dead center every time,” Rhys noted and Wolfe grinned.

  Wow. That was … impressive.

  They’d obviously done this before.

  “You workin’ tonight?” Wolfe asked and Amy realized the question was directed at her.

  “Yeah.”

  “You still workin’ for my sister?”

  Amy’s eyebrows rose as she stared at the handsome sheriff. “Reagan’s your sister?”

  Rhys glanced over at Wolfe, then back at her. “She’ll deny it if you ask her, but yeah.” He chuckled. “She’s my baby sister.”

  Huh. She’d never thought to get Reagan’s last name.

  Now that Amy thought about it, she did notice the resemblance. They had the same straight nose, the same dimpled chin. However, there were a few differences. Like their heights. Plus, Reagan had brown eyes while Rhys’s were a deep, dark blue.

  “What time do you go on duty?” Wolfe asked Rhys.

  “Six.” He glanced at his watch. “Which means I need to get goin’.” Rhys met her eyes. “Thanks for lettin’ me tag along.”

  “Anytime,” she answered before thinking. Oddly enough, she meant that. She liked Rhys. He wasn’t as intimidating as she’d once thought. She had no idea when she’d changed her perception of him, but now that she knew he was Reagan’s brother, he seemed more approachable.

  “I’ll catch y’all later.” Rhys smiled at her, and Amy once again found herself smiling back at him. “Try to keep our boy here outta trouble tonight.”

  Looking over at Wolfe, she noticed he was grinning. A sexy, mischievous smile that said that wasn’t likely.

  Amy smiled, too, the movement natural. “I’ll do my best.”

  Wolfe nodded toward his truck as he double-checked his shotgun, likely ensuring it wasn’t loaded. Rhys checked his, then handed it over to Wolfe. “Come on. I’ll drive you back to your car.”

  “I’m goin’ right by there,” Rhys noted, his tone soft, non-threatening. “If you’d like, I can drive you.”

  Amy looked to Wolfe. She wasn’t sure what she should say. She didn’t mind the idea of Rhys taking her back to town, even if she didn’t like the idea of leaving Wolfe. Since Wolfe was already at home, it seemed like a waste of time and gas for him to drive all the way back though.

  “Up to you, darlin’,” Wolfe said, making his way to the truck.

  “I’ll … uh…” She glanced over at Rhys. “I’ll ride with you. If you really don’t mind.”

  “Not at all.” Rhys walked over to his truck, opening the passenger door.

  Amy stopped beside Wolfe. “Thank you. For this.” She glanced down at the ground. “Do you … uh … think we could do it again?”

  Wolfe’s finger curled beneath her chin, gentle and warm. He lifted her face so she had to look at him. “Anytime you want. Just say the word. And next time I’m in town, I’ll see what the pawn shop has. It’d be good for you to have a shotgun, at the very least. But I want you comfortable with it first.”

  Amy found another smile slipping free. When Wolfe’s finger dropped, she immediately missed his touch. She was sure he was just being friendly. The last thing she needed was for him to see how his touch had affected her. She liked it. A lot. For whatever reason, his touch was reassuring. It made her feel safe. Safer than she had in a very long time.

  With an awkward wave, she hurried over to Rhys’s truck.

  “Here’s the keys if you wanna start it. I need to talk to Wolfe for a second.”

  Amy nodded and took the keys from his hand.

  Once she was inside, the door closing behind her, she noticed Wolfe was watching her. A thrill shot through her, but she managed to ignore it. Mostly.

  The temperature in the truck was scorching, so she shoved the key in the ignition and started it, her attention lingering on the two men.

  Rhys walked over to Wolfe, stepping right into his personal space.

  Amy couldn’t read their lips, but based on their body language, they weren’t talking about anything serious. Wolfe’s smirk was one she’d seen before, one he’d given her. And the way Rhys was looking at Wolfe…

  Damn.

  Maybe she’d misjudged Wolfe altogether. Maybe he wasn’t interested in women the way she thought. It was almost as though Rhys and Wolfe were engulfed in some powerful sexual tension. Again, Amy found it incredibly hot to watch, although a little disappointing at the same time.

  “Probably for the best,” she mumbled to herself, turning away when both men glanced over at her.

  And it was. For the best.

  The absolute last thing Amy needed right now was to let her guard down. It was one thing to hang around a few men who could provide a measure of protection, but it was something else entirely for her to let her guard down.

  She’d done that once.

  She would never do it again.

  Ten minutes later, they were heading past the solar-powered gate at the entrance to Wolfe’s ranch. The truck was silent except for the steady hum of the air conditioner blasting cold air that did little to fight off the suffocating heat.

  Amy did her best not to fidget, but it wasn’t easy.

  “Can I … uh … ask you a question?” she blurted, realizing that the silence was making her far more nervous than talking would.

  “Anything,” he answered, his tone soft.

  “What made you wanna be a sheriff?”

  His smile was warm as he stared out the windshield, his eyes darting toward the rearview mirror every so often.

  “I don’t think that was ever my intention.”

  “No?”

  “Nah. Deputy, yeah. Since I was a kid, I knew I’d be a police officer.”

  “Did somethin’ happen to make you decide that?”

  Rhys sighed, his gaze swerving toward her briefly, then back to the road.

  “When I was a kid, the cops were constantly bein’ called out to my grandfather’s place. I grew up there. I’ve got a big family and they were always hangin’ around, too. Probably got a little rowdy from time to time.”

  “Probably?” she teased, her mouth clamping shut as soon as the word came out.

  Rhys chuckled. “Okay, definitely.”

  He pulled up to a stop sign, glanced both ways. “Anyway. They were always comin’ out for one reason or another. The old couple livin’ next door liked to bitch and moan, although there were about fifteen acres between the two houses.” He sighed. “There was this one hard-ass deputy who’d gotten caught up in his power trip. Pissed me off the way he treated everyone. Lookin’ down his nose like he was better than us.

  “One day, my aunt’s smart mouth got the best of her and she said somethin’ she shouldn’t have. He got rough with her. My cousin stepped in, ended up goin’ to jail for protectin’ his momma.” Rhys glanced over at her. “I didn’t assume all cops were assholes. I knew better. But I also knew there were some out there. Told myself that day that I would become a deputy in this county and I wouldn’t put up with shit like that. The people livin’ here don’t need to be hassled by the cops. No reason for all that nonsense.”

  Amy nodded but kept her eyes trained out the window, even as they pulled into the parking lot behind her car. She knew all about how power trips affected people. They could make them mean. Or worse. It could turn them into monsters.

  Clearing her throat, Amy forced her eyes over to him. “Well, I think this town’s lucky to have you.”

  His smile was so warm it did something funny to Amy’s insides. It was obvious he didn’t
get compliments like that often.

  “Thanks.”

  With a deep breath, she forced a smile and unbuckled her seat belt. “I … uh … had fun. Thanks for … uh … coming out there with us.”

  “Anytime,” he said, tossing her response from earlier back at her.

  That drained some of the tension coiling inside her and Amy smiled for real. She really did like this man. And so far, she got the impression he was one of the good guys.

  Not that she was the greatest judge of character, but still.

  “Hang tight,” he said before hopping out of the truck and walking around to her side.

  The men in this town were so chivalrous. Amy wondered if that was a small-town thing. She hadn’t encountered the same in Houston.

  Rhys helped her out, then walked her to her car, opening the door for her there, too.

  “If you need anything,” he said, his hands on her door, “holler.”

  She smiled up at him. “Thanks.”

  Amy got a wink that made her insides go haywire and then the door closed.

  It took two tries to get her car started, but once it screeched to life, she took a deep breath. She had just enough time to run home, change clothes, and make it back to Reagan’s.

  Or … in an effort to save money on gas, she could just wear what she had on and drive straight to Reagan’s. Not only would it be kinder to her pocketbook, she also wouldn’t have to go home to an empty house.

  Yeah. She liked that plan much better.

  The cold shower felt incredible.

  But not nearly as good as his hand on his dick.

  Wolfe stood beneath the chilly spray with his cock firmly gripped in his fist. With his eyes closed, he leaned against the slate-tiled wall and gave in to his fantasies, to the overwhelming lust surging in his bloodstream. The image of Amy, all sweaty and naked, laid out beside Rhys on Wolfe’s bed…

  Yeah, it was a fantasy that would likely never become a reality, but holy fuck. His dick throbbed in his grip, and he squeezed more firmly, sliding his soapy hand up and down his length. His breaths were coming rapidly, his body coiling tighter with every passing second. Wolfe wasn’t sure he’d ever found a mental image to be quite as hot as the idea of the three of them together. All the things he wanted to do to both of them…

  “Fuck,” he groaned, jerking himself harder, faster.

  He imagined Amy and Rhys on their knees before him, their tongues sliding over his shaft, licking, sucking, alternating between the warm rasps of their mouths.

  “Son of a bitch!” His body jerked, his thigh muscles locking as he came hard, his head falling back against the tile with a thud.

  Lord Almighty.

  Wolfe sucked in air and turned his face to the spray.

  And to think, he’d spent just a short time in their presence and now he was thinking about fucking them both into oblivion.

  Oddly enough, Wolfe wasn’t even trying to deny his attraction to Rhys. He actually felt relief to acknowledge it. As for Amy… Yeah, Wolfe had known he’d been attracted to her from the first second he laid eyes on her. As to whether he’d ever be able to act on that attraction… He wasn’t sure it would be possible. As skittish as she was, Wolfe knew he would have to allow her to make the first move. Until then, he’d have to get reacquainted with his hand.

  After soaping up and rinsing off, Wolfe shut off the water and grabbed a towel. He was going to meet his cousin at Reagan’s, but for the first time in a damn long time, he was looking forward to going for a reason other than to hang out with Lynx. He would get to see Amy again. Although she and Rhys had left only half an hour ago, Wolfe couldn’t wait to see her, to simply be in her presence.

  He couldn’t help but think they’d made some progress this afternoon, spending time together on the range. Wolfe had been paying attention to how she reacted to Rhys. Even he had noticed the moment she had relaxed her guard with him.

  After rubbing the towel over his hair, he tossed it over the shower door and went to his bedroom to get dressed.

  “What’s up, old man?” Wolfe called out to his father when he walked into the small one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment above the Cedar Door store an hour later.

  “Hey, kid,” his father greeted from his recliner in front of the television. “What’re you doin’ over here tonight? Shouldn’t you be out startin’ shit at Reagan’s?”

  “Lynx is the one who starts shit,” he told his father as he did every time he came over.

  “That’s what they all say.”

  “’Cause it’s true.”

  “Seriously, what brings you by?” Calvin asked, peering over at Wolfe.

  “Just wanted to check in. See if you needed anything?”

  “Got some iced tea, popcorn, and a baseball game. I’d say I’m all set.”

  “You wanna come down to the bar? I’ll buy you a beer.”

  His father chuckled. “These old bones are gonna sit right here for the rest of the night. That is, till I drag my old ass right to that bedroom in there.”

  Old bones, his ass. At fifty-two, Calvin Caine was in as good of shape as he’d been all his life.

  “You sure?”

  Calvin nodded.

  “All right. Don’t say I didn’t ask.”

  Another chuckle came from the old man. “How’s that little gal workin’ out? Amy, right?”

  “Yep. She’s doin’ good. Catchin’ on quick and she’s cleanin’ shit up.”

  “Really?” His father seemed more interested. “Think maybe she can come by the store? Try to get the office organized?”

  Wolfe figured Amy would love that. Plus, he wanted the old man and Amy to get along. Aside from Lynx, his father was the closest person in his life, and he enjoyed every minute he got to spend with him. These days, they didn’t do much more than chat for a few minutes here and there.

  “If you ask her nicely,” Wolfe told him, “I’m sure she’d be happy to.”

  “Heard the sheriff’s been stoppin’ in.” Calvin’s gray eyebrows rose. “Things good?”

  “Yeah. He’s just checkin’ in.”

  Emerald-green eyes so like his own stared back at him. Wolfe knew his father was a smart man. He’d heard the rumors, knew what Wolfe and his cousin had been up to all these years. If Wolfe had to guess, the man probably even knew about Wolfe’s preference for men and women. Not that they’d ever talked about it. His father tended to stay out of his business when it came to shit like that.

  “Heard you had ’em both out at the house this afternoon.”

  Well, no one said anything was sacred in a small town. Wolfe had no idea how word had traveled that fast, but it didn’t surprise him.

  “Teachin’ Amy to shoot.”

  “Good idea.”

  Wolfe was tempted to ask him what he’d heard but decided against it. Until he figured out what was going on with Amy, he didn’t want any speculation to cloud his thoughts or anyone else’s.

  “All right. I’m meetin’ up with Lynx at Reagan’s. Talk to you later.”

  Calvin lifted a hand in a short wave. “Love ya, kid. Y’all be good.”

  “Love you, too, Dad.”

  With that, Wolfe headed out the same way he’d come.

  The drive to Reagan’s took all of five minutes. Getting into the bar took another two after stopping to chat with one of the cowboys hanging in the parking lot, and then Wolfe was finally perched on a barstool with a cold beer in front of him. His cousin hadn’t arrived yet, but Wolfe was already anticipating the knock-down drag-out that was coming. In fact, it was likely going to happen before Lynx even arrived. If the obnoxious cowboys in the back didn’t cool their jets and leave Amy alone, Wolfe was going to rearrange their priorities right quick.

  “Oh, come on, honey. I’m sure Reagan won’t mind if you have a beer with us. We’ll even let you break if you want.”

  One guy leaned on his pool stick while the other moved closer to Amy.

  Amy sidestepped a hand that reached
for her and Wolfe inadvertently growled.

  “What’s the matter, doll face? Shy? Don’t worry, we’ll be easy on you.”

  Wolfe looked up and met Reagan’s concerned gaze. He nodded, taking a long pull on his beer as he got to his feet. “Might as well call the sheriff now,” he told her, then set the bottle down with a little more force than necessary.

  “We’ll be happy to show you around town, sugar,” the younger one said. “You’re new here, right? Probably don’t know a lot of people? We can fix that for ya. And we’ll even end the outing with a personal tour of my bedroom.” The guy chuckled.

  Wow. What a fuckup.

  Shaking his head in disbelief, Wolfe stepped up behind Amy, careful not to touch her.

  “I doubt she’d be impressed by your momma’s house,” Wolfe told the younger one.

  That earned him a glare from both men. Wolfe recognized them. They were wranglers over at the Double D.

  “Fuck you, Caine. Why don’t you mind your own damn business,” the older one spat.

  Amy inadvertently stepped back, her body coming up against Wolfe’s. He didn’t know if she was even aware how close she was, but he damn sure wasn’t about to say anything. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he steered her around and turned her toward the bar. “I got this.”

  Her big brown eyes flew up to meet his and he forced a smile.

  “Who the fuck do you think you are?” the young dumb ass questioned. “We were talkin’ to her.”

  “You were actin’ a fool,” Wolfe informed him, turning back slowly.

  It was too damn early for these idiots to be acting like … well, like idiots. No way had a couple of beers pushed them to the limit and made their inner jackasses take over. They simply lacked any fucking manners.

  When the older one took a step closer, Wolfe noticed the instant he realized their true size differences.

  “Look. We don’t want no trouble.” Holding his hands up in surrender, the guy kept his eyes locked with Wolfe’s.

  “Don’t let me hear you disrespectin’ her again.”

  “Of course not.”

  Wolfe pointed at the younger one. “And if you touch her, I’ll break your fucking hand.”

  Knowing it was a gamble, Wolfe gave the two men his back. Even as he did, he knew what was coming. The pool stick cracked right across his shoulder blades. The force of the blow would’ve sent him sprawling across the floor if he hadn’t braced for it. The second strike across his kidney made him wince, but he managed to turn and block the next one.