“Fuck this!” He wasn’t getting a damn thing accomplished and might as well knock off for the day.
Brock stormed into the bunkhouse, ripped open the cabinet and pulled out a bottle of aged whiskey. Not bothering with a glass, he took the bottle and headed for his valley, the piece of property Van had given him.
While most of the land showed signs of winter’s stronghold, this one peaceful bastion held colorful signs of life. The tall green grass still stuck up from under a blanket of snow.
He dropped down at the base of a big pine tree, sat on a fallen log and stared out over his land. Since the first time he’d come out to this spot he’d had a picture in his mind of the house he’d build. Now when he looked out over the valley he saw a different image. A happy picture of him and the hellion laughing and playing in front of that house. A ridiculous idea that could never come to pass.
He took a long swallow of the liquor, enjoying the burn blazing through his chest. The solitude didn’t last for long. Jesse plopped down next to him and snatched the bottle right out of his hand.
“Can’t a man get five minutes peace?”
“Around here?” Jesse snorted. “Not likely.” Then the man who had become his best friend said the last thing Brock had ever expected to hear.
“You never did recognize me from Billings—not that I’m surprised. We didn’t exactly run with the same crowd at The Zone and were never introduced. But I knew who you were the second I saw you among the hundreds of men vying to land a job here.”
Jesse paused for a few seconds before dropping a ticking time bomb right in Brock’s lap. “I know Lily too. Her brother Chase and I were friends before they left Montana.”
Everything in him froze and Brock held his breath as he waited for Jesse to continue.
“Chase never wanted Lily going to the club. He knew she didn’t belong in that world, but she gave him that look—I’m sure you know the one. No man could refuse that practiced innocent plea in her eyes.”
Christ! Sure he’d known Jesse had Dominant tendencies, and that he’d created a D/s community website. But he didn’t remember ever seeing him before coming to the Shooting Star. The idea his friend knew Lily blew Brock away.
“Chase and I stayed in touch for a while after they moved. Your effect on her wasn’t as all-consuming as she led you to believe. You see, Lily always was big on drama and loved nothing better than making a lasting impression on people. That woman is quite the actress. Fooled just about everyone.”
Jesse took another sip of whiskey. Brock could hardly breathe. He remained silent, grinding his teeth down to stumps.
“She was far from the broken, devastated young girl she pretended to be. In fact, she’s in New York now, working off Broadway and putting on one hell of a show from what I hear. She has a throng of admirers and is very happy.”
Brock grabbed the bottle back and took another big swallow of the whiskey. Having a major event in your life reshaped before your eyes required some liquid fortification.
“Now Tink, on the other hand. You did have a major impact on her. Whatever happened between you two that night, you introduced her to a side of herself she didn’t know existed. Something like that shakes a person and has the power to make even a strong woman run scared.”
Whatever she’d felt Tink had probably shared with Kate. Brock could just imagine the pillow talk between Kate and Jesse that would have given his friend pretty good insight on what made Tink tick.
“I’m supposed to keep my mouth shut but I figure Kate will forgive me. Either that or we’ll fight then have make-up sex.” He laughed but quickly turned serious again. “Tink snapped right back after her three days in that sensory deprivation torture room. What really hurt her was getting the cold shoulder from you.”
Pushing Tink away had been for her own protection.
“You didn’t hear this from me, but Kate and Steph offered Tink a partnership in their business. The reason she didn’t take it and left the ranch is you. She couldn’t stand to be near you and not be with you. Of course, she’ll never admit that, but then you’ve met her father.”
Jesse stood and stared out over the valley before speaking again. “Be pretty stupid to let a woman like Tink slip through your fingers because you’re afraid to be yourself.”
Long after Jesse walked away, past the setting of the sun, Brock remained rooted to the spot. He breathed in cold clean air yet his body heated as memories of Tink’s beautiful body tied to his bed flooded his mind. That night she’d pushed past the scars of her past and given him the precious gift of her trust.
Should he ever be lucky enough to gain her submission, he vowed not to fuck it up.
* * * * *
She turned on to the ranch road and stopped just before the arch. Tink wondered if making a wish on the shooting stars decorating the sign would do any good.
All she’d thought about on the drive in from Billings was one tall, dark and handsome cowboy. Everything about Brock Madden turned her on and she’d been fighting that attraction since she first met him. The hunger in his eyes the first time he’d seen her naked. The look of masculine appreciation when she’d stood up to him that had warmed her right down to her curled toes. His possessive growling when other men got too close. How gentle he’d been when he got her out of the panic room.
Their night of passion hadn’t permitted her the chance to explore the hard planes and angles of his sexy body. She longed to run her fingers through his silky brown hair. To map each sharp groove between thick slabs of muscle with her tongue. She wanted to rub her nipples against his chest then slide lower, breathe in his heady masculine scent and taste his essence on her tongue.
She shifted in her seat, allowing herself a moment to enjoy the friction created by the seam of her jeans pressing against her needy clit.
Taking a deep breath, Tink prayed for strength. She had to put aside her arousal, forget her desires and concentrate on Kate’s wedding. Had to go in there and be cool, calm and collected. Prove to everyone, including herself, that she was still a survivor. Still strong and unaffected by the curves life threw her way.
It was going to be the longest two weeks of her life.
She rubbed a hand over her flatter tummy, chasing away the butterflies frantically fluttering around in there. The ranch looked beautiful and pristine with a fresh white covering of snow. A breathtaking winter wonderland of bright new possibilities.
As she pulled up in front of the main house, Tink forced herself not to look toward the bunkhouse and ruthlessly clamped down on the urge to catch even a fleeting glimpse of Brock.
Stone cold. Ice runs in my veins. Nothing can touch me.
She’d just stepped from the rental car as Riley shot through the front door and took the porch steps in a running leap. Decked out in an all-white ski suit, sporting a huge grin, his eyes shone with a little boy’s excitement.
“Tink!” he hollered. “You’re just in time.” He raced to the car and came to a skidding halt, kicking up a flurry of white powder. “Please tell me you brought a ski suit.”
“Yeah,” she nodded toward the back of the SUV. “It’s in my bag.”
He kissed her cheek and she couldn’t resist being swept up in his enthusiasm as he closed his arms around her waist and swung her in a circle. “Welcome back, beautiful.”
Before her head had stopped spinning, Riley hauled her bag out of the car and lugged it up the steps, stopping at the door to hurry her up.
“Come on, slowpoke. We’re missing all the fun.”
“Okay, okay. If you’ll take that up to my room I can be ready in five minutes.”
He raced up the steps and Tink felt light and carefree for the first time in ages. Maybe all her stress about this trip had been for nothing.
After getting on her snow gear, she bounded down the steps, coming to a screeching stop when Riley burst out laughing. She glanced down at her ski suit but didn’t see anything wrong. “What’s so funny?”
�
��You’ll see.”
The cryptic words had her feeling wary. Tink pulled on her knit cap and followed Riley, climbing onto the ATV behind him. Grabbing her hands, he wrapped her arms around his waist. “Hang on tight, honey.”
She hadn’t seen much of the ranch the other times she’d been there and enjoyed the ride. They passed the bunkhouse, barn, stable and an empty corral and shot across the land. Resting her cheek against Riley’s back, she hoped to receive a similar warm welcome from the rest of the ranch residents.
When they finally came to a stop, she slipped off the bike and stared in wonder, feeling as if she’d been transported to a magical place. “Oh my God, it’s amazing!”
The north pasture had been transformed into a village made of snow. Igloos, snow walls, large caches of snowballs and holes burrowed into the white stuff leading to places she was anxious to check out.
“You ready to have some fun, honey?”
“Hell, yeah!”
“Good.” He pointed to the left. “The girls’ team is on that side. Head on over and they’ll fill you in.”
Tink headed off in the direction Riley had sent her, sinking knee-deep into the snow and moving as fast as possible, anxious to find out what game Savannah and the inventive cowboys had dreamed up. About halfway to a large, dome-shaped structure, a snowball slammed into her back and she almost got a face full of the white stuff.
She turned and looked for her attacker. Although she could hear him laughing, she saw nothing but a wall of white. Riley’s earlier laughter over her red ski suit, boots and cap now made complete sense. She stood out like a sore thumb while the ranch prankster had blended in with the snow and become invisible.
“Hey,” Kate yelled. “Not fair. The game hasn’t started yet.”
“You expect us to pass up a target like that?” one of the men hollered. “Get real.”
Tink didn’t wait around to hear any more. She moved as fast as possible through the thick snow and ducked into the dome, which turned out to be a snow-covered tent.
“That big jerk,” Savannah said in greeting. “There are plenty of extra white snowsuits at the house. Figures he’d let you come out here looking like a bull’s-eye.”
She unzipped her jacket and quickly shrugged it off her shoulders. “No worries. The lining is white. I’ll just turn it inside out and they’ll still be looking for a flash of red.”
Kate and Mandy grabbed the wrists of her jacket and helped pull it off her arms. Van and Steph got to work on her boots while she and Sandy dragged the pants down her legs.
“Jesus, Tink. What happened to you?”
She turned and took in Kate’s shocked expression. “What?”
“You’re almost skinnier than Tamara.”
“Hardly,” Tink snorted and glanced around. “Where is Tamara, anyway?”
Savannah winked. “She’s our secret weapon. Snuck out to sabotage their ammo supply.”
Once she was zipped back into her gear, Tink rubbed her hands together, more than ready to have some fun. “What are the rules?”
“No rules,” Mandy supplied then grabbed her hand. “Come on. You can work one of the guns with me.”
“Guns?”
Kate laughed. “I told you they had all kinds of cool toys out here.”
“Well, all right. Come on, Mandy. Let’s go kick some cowboy butt.”
* * * * *
“Riley’s back,” Cord said. “And he brought company.”
“Oh man. She’s gonna get creamed.”
Jesse’s double entendre had Brock laughing as he watched Riley race toward the pasture with a woman wrapped around him closer than a second layer of skin. They came to a skidding stop, throwing up a wide spray of snow.
Brock’s vision turned redder than her cherry-red ski suit when the hellion lifted her head from Riley’s back. Her cheeks were flushed and a huge grin split those pouty lips.
He tensed and headed toward them. “Sorry ass son of a—”
Brock was pulled up short as his arms were grabbed.
“Go make a scene and you’ll be playing right into his game,” Jesse warned. “Ignore his antics, he’ll get bored and mess with someone else.”
Cord sighed but said nothing. Brock knew the ranch foreman only tolerated their crazy games because they made Van smile. The stern cowboy would move heaven and earth to please his wife, which made him a good man in Brock’s book.
He watched Tink move through the deep snow, her delectable ass swaying. She looked good enough to eat, like the cherry perched atop a mound of whipped cream. His pulse raced and his body heated.
A snowball slammed into her back, followed by Riley’s hysterical laughter. Brock gritted his teeth and decided he might have to help the women out a bit where Riley was concerned. His friend needed to be taken down a notch or three.
Dakota glanced around them. “Are we waiting on Zeke to show?”
“No, he has exams today.” Jesse smiled. “He’ll be here tomorrow so we’ll have an excuse for a rematch.”
Once both sides were ready and game play started, it didn’t take long to figure out the women were sneakier than they’d imagined. The men watched as their old go-carts were rolled out of a dome and set up behind a wall of snow. Before they realized what the women were up to, plastic barrels rose above the wall and shot a barrage of snowballs at their main structure.
“What the hell?” Riley ducked a snowball then popped up just in time to take a direct hit in the face.
Dakota grinned like a damn fool. “They’re using the T-shirt launchers you guys bought for water balloon fights.”
“Damn!” Jesse cursed but smiled. “Using our own weapons against us.”
“We need to get the slingshots set up,” Riley suggested. He and Jesse got busy bringing out their secret weapon. Both men were quickly back at the front line, cussing up a storm. “Most of our snowballs are gone. Either we have a traitor or one of the women is in our camp.”
Brock did a quick head count. Mandy, Van, Steph and the hellion manned the launchers. Tink was no longer decked out in red and he wondered how she’d managed to change. Kate kept the others supplied with snowballs. Sandy and Craig hadn’t joined the games, instead having some alone time while Mandy was otherwise occupied. That left one woman unaccounted for. “Where’s Tamara? I don’t see her anywhere.”
“Busy destroying our snowball supply, I’m sure. Leave her to me.” Dakota pulled a hood over his head and all but disappeared into the snow.
Setting up the big slingshots took only a few minutes and then they were in business, shooting their own torrent of snowballs as fast as they could make more. A high-pitched squeal rose from behind them and Brock knew Dakota had found his woman.
Battling at a distance didn’t last long. Soon they were all sneaking up on each other, ducking behind the snow shelters for protection. Cord tackled Mandy but she had a hidden snowball, turned on him, and shoved it right down the front of his jacket before racing away. Steph got the drop on Riley and soon the two of them were rolling around in a snow bank.
The women had really gone all-out on their side of the playing field, creating tunnels in the snow that led from one structure to another, which made catching them a challenge.
Because of her pregnancy, Van didn’t take part in the hand-to-hand combat. She remained on the sidelines making more ammo and cheering on whomever she wanted to win at the moment.
That left only one blonde in the game. Brock followed every flash of those long colorfully streaked blonde tresses, finally catching up with Tink as she ducked into one of the tunnels, her infectious laughter trailing behind her.
He snuck into the passageway behind her, waiting until they could no longer be seen before grabbing her ankle.
She squealed and fought his hold but he wasn’t about to let go. His grip prevented her from wiggling away as he slid along her body. Her lush curves fit him to perfection, the firm globes of her ass nestling against his pelvis. Regardless of the cold, his
cock grew hard.
He ripped off his gloves, tucked Tink’s hair behind her ear and nuzzled her neck. Breathing in her clean, addictive scent ignited his body’s needs.
“Damn, I missed you, hellion.”
She’d missed him too.
Brock’s hot breath feathered over her neck a second before he nipped at her earlobe. One arm wrapped around her ribs, pressed against the underside of suddenly achy breasts. The other hand grasped her hip, heat branding her right through the thick pants. His hips rocked, the hard length of his cock riding the crease of her ass, stirring memories of how wonderful it had been to take him there.
She wondered how long he’d want her again before turning cold and pushing her away. The idea of him turning from her threatened to destroy the fragile grasp she had on her emotions, which pissed her off. “Jesus, Brock. Your mood swings are killing me.”
His body tensed as she spoke, and that just heightened her desire to lash out. “You’re hot then you’re cold. One minute you can’t keep your hands off me then the next you can’t get far enough away. We fight and you want me. We get along and you don’t. Stop this crazy train, I wanna get off.”
He muttered something under his breath that she didn’t catch. Then he shifted, cupped her chin and turned her face until she met his gaze. Tink swore she saw fire flash in the depths of his eyes.
“I have wanted you since the first time I saw you. That hasn’t changed. After what happened at Wyatt’s… I thought you needed space so I stayed away.”
“You didn’t want to deal with it and ran.”
“No,” he growled. “Running is what you do, hellion. And it stops now. You’re mine and there’s nowhere left to run.”
His lips crashed down on hers, hard and demanding. The tenderness of a moment ago vanished, replaced by the Dominant lover who mastered her with ease. He pressed his tongue against her lips, seeking entrance, compelling her to let him in. The man was a drug, the one weakness she didn’t want to resist. And why should she deny him—deny herself—when she knew the sweet satisfaction of surrendering to Brock?
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