by Jenny Penn
“Is there something wrong, Mr. Cooper? Or are you just going to stare at me the rest of the morning?” Completely unaware of the danger she was in, Lindsay dared to taunt him.
“Don’t tempt me.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Lindsay stilled, watching him with a growing suspicion in her eyes.
“It means we’re willing to buy the land off you.” Cooper changed the subject, veering it back on course before he did anything stupid. “Just name your price.”
“Trust me, it’s more than you can afford.”
He doubted that but didn’t put it to the test. Instead, he remained focus on the task at hand. “Then perhaps there is something else I have that might interest you.”
Like a spanking.
Cooper could already imagine her on all fours, the beautiful globes of her ass flushed a pretty pink and held high enough to reveal the creamy, molten folds of her cunt. His cock pulsed in hungry demand behind his zipper, tempting him to give that theory a try.
“Yeah, I’d like some consideration for my situation,” Lindsay grumped, looking absolutely adorable as she glared up at him. “I haven’t been here a whole day. You could give a girl a chance to settle in before you start harassing her.”
“Time isn’t something we have a lot of,” Cooper repeated. “After all, cows need water to live. They dehydrate, they die. So we’re sort of limited in our options.”
“I doubt that.” Lindsay didn’t bend an inch or even blink as she nodded behind him. “Your kettle is boiling.”
Knowing when to retreat, Cooper turned to finish making the coffee. Pulling down the mugs from the one and only upper cabinet, he filled hers full. If the woman wanted a challenge, he’d give her one.
“Your coffee, madam.”
* * * *
Lindsay recognized the smile pulling on Cooper’s lips. He was amused and she was about to be tested again. It didn’t take a genius to figure out how as he extended a mug full of black sludge toward her. The coffee smelled like the cabin, like something had died in it.
Maybe that’s why it congealed. Whatever the reason, she really didn’t want to drink the stuff. Reading her hesitation for the disgust that it was, Cooper smirked and pulled her cup back.
“Perhaps it has a little too much flavor for you, lil’ bit. Don’t worry. I can fix that.”
It wasn’t the wink he tossed her or even his sarcastically cheerful tone that had Lindsay’s ears flushing with heat. It was the way he called her “lil’ bit” that made her want to leap across the distance and tackle his ass. If only she were big enough to pin him to the ground and force him to eat dirt. Unfortunately, it looked like she was the one who would have to eat it, or more accurately drink it.
“What are you doing?” Turning his words back on Cooper, Lindsay caught his wrist before he could add extra water to her cup.
“I’m going to dilute it for you.”
“I don’t think I want you handling my cup if you think watering down all the flavor is good thing.” Lindsay actually managed to sound honestly indignant as she pulled her cup from his hand. “This is my coffee. Thank you very much.”
“Fine then.” Cooper turned to watch her with an air of heavy anticipation. “Drink up.”
Holding her breath and trying not taste anything on its way down, Lindsay lifted her cup and took a big gulp. As hard as it was to swallow, the coffee was even harder to keep down thanks to the foul film it left covering her tongue. That would cost her an extra two minutes of brushing her teeth.
Hell, she’d have brush her tongue, but first she’d have to drive into town and buy some bottled water. That would have to wait until after she’d vanquished the cocksure cowboy watching her with a superior look that had her bravely holding her cup out and asking for more. Amazingly, her hand didn’t even shake.
“Perhaps we have been rather forward in our request,” Cooper conceded as he poured her another cup. “After all, there isn’t any reason we can’t continue to access the water while you contemplate the matter. If in the future you have need to access it yourself, we can work out a deal then.”
“Well, that’s just…very gracious of you.” Lindsay smiled, through with drinking Cooper’s coffee. “I mean it’s not every day a man I barely know offers to allow me to use my own land. I’m kind of overwhelmed and uncertain of what to say. I guess I’ll have to think it over.”
“Think what over?” One of the ranchers gathered around the island counter spoke up. Lindsay thought his name might have been Chet but it was hard to recall given that they all looked alike. “What the hell is there to think over?”
“That’s enough, Chet.”
This time it was Cooper who came to her defense, reprimanding the cowboy more with his tone than his actual words. Not that Chet minded Cooper’s correction.
“What?” The man spat. “This is real simple. She doesn’t need the water. We do. And guess what, honey?” Pinning her with a hard look, he made himself perfectly clear. “You ain’t got a fence. So you can take the money we offer you or we can take what we want. Think that over. You got a day.”
With that Chet turned and stormed out, taking the rest of the men with him. Everybody, that was, but Cooper and his brother.
Chapter 3
Lindsay stared after the men, watching them leave with a sense of impending doom. She couldn’t help but wonder if she attracted trouble. It certainly did seem to find her. Thankfully she’d gotten good at handling these kinds of difficulties. A bunch of cranky cowboys couldn’t be that much harder to manage than her stepfather.
Nick and Cooper were another matter altogether, though. Scowling after the retreating men, Nick shook his head as he turned to meet Lindsay’s gaze. The concern she could read in his blue eyes confused her. Nobody ever cared, not about her.
Almost since the day she’d been born, Lindsay had been on her own, but not today. Today she had Nick. He stepped forward to engulf her in a hug that caught Lindsay completely off guard. That didn’t stop her from melting into his strength. The heat of his body warmed her even as the spicy musk of his scent filled her with an emotion much deeper than contentment. She could have lived there, caught in his embrace and been at peace for the rest of her days.
“Don’t worry over them, lil’ bit.” Nick leaned back to offer her an encouraging smile. “Cooper will manage those idiots.”
“Nick.” Cooper heaved his brother’s name out on an aggrieved sigh. “Leave. Now.”
“What’s the magic word?”
“Please.” Cooper growled out the word, provoking a snort from his brother.
“That didn’t sound sincere.”
“Now!”
“That did.” Turning back toward Lindsay, Nick dropped a quick kiss on her lips before letting her go. “I’ll catch up with you later, lil’ bit.”
He left her staring after him, with her mouth still tingling and mind still rioting. Just what he meant by that? And why had he kissed her? Whatever the reason, Lindsay knew one thing. She was in trouble. Very serious trouble, she qualified as she turned back to face Cooper. He did not look happy.
“I’m sorry about Nick. He has boundary issues,” Cooper ground out with a roll of his eyes. “We really should put the boy on a leash.”
“It’s okay,” Lindsay dismissed his concern with ease but inside she was twisted up in knots trying to figure out what Cooper meant by his comments.
He seemed to imply that Nick did these kinds of things frequently, and she’d stupidly thought that kiss might have meant something. It had to her. It’d been her first kiss. That is if she didn’t count Crugman’s slobbering advances, which Lindsay didn’t.
“No, it’s not. Nick was being an ass but don’t worry, I’ll handle my brother,” Cooper assured her, completely oblivious to the effect his words had. “As for Chet…I’ll try my best but he’s panicked. They all are because they really do need that water.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to help,” Lindsay corre
cted the implication she felt behind his words. “I certainly don’t want to start a war with my neighbors, but it is my land and I do have a right to consider the matter before making a decision.”
“Yeah, well, you really don’t have a fence.”
“And I really can go buy some bear traps.”
That popped out without any thought. While Lindsay wouldn’t have ever followed through on her threat, she didn’t back down from it even when Cooper stepped close enough to bring the warn tips of his boots within a breath of her pink toenails.
“You should be a foot taller and hundred pounds heavier before making those kinds of threats.” He raked her body with a lascivious gaze before pinning her with a hard look. “And you damn sure need to drop a real set of balls and grow some hair on your chest before even dreaming of living up to them.”
“Give the coffee a day”—Lindsay leaned into the menacing flex of muscles trying to intimidate her and dropped her tone to a deep, low impersonation of Cooper’s—“I’m sure it’ll make me as mean as I need to be.”
“Let’s hope so, lil’ bit, because if not, then I’ll have to step in.”
“Step in?” Lindsay lifted a brow at that expression, having no doubt it was a warning. “And do what? Paddle me?”
The second the words hit the air his eyes darkened with a look that had Lindsay wishing she could take them back. He was staring down at her like he was considering it, but it wasn’t the dirty thoughts filling his head that worried her. It was the dirty thoughts filling her own.
“I meant step in and take care of Chet,” Cooper finally qualified, disappointing Lindsay when she realized there were no dirty thoughts in his head. It was just her.
“Don’t worry.” Forcing herself to focus on the matter at hand, Lindsay waved away Cooper’s grim assistance. “I’m sure I can handle the situation if one arises.”
“Fine,” Cooper agreed after a long moment’s hesitation. “It’s your problem. I’ll let you handle it.”
He was lying. Lindsay sensed that instinctively. Before she could confront him, Cooper reached out to cup her cheek, stealing every thought from her mind as he caressed her with a touch too soft and sweet to come from fingers so thick and callused. He traced the curved line of her jaw, the full arch of her lips, and the straight run up her nose, leaving behind a delicious tingle that had her breath catching.
“You have the softest skin.” The deep, husky sound of his whisper licked straight up her spine, igniting a need that echoed in the raw honesty of his confession. “I could just pet you for hours and one day I will. One day I’ll have you naked and at my mercy. When that day comes, lil’ bit, I’m going to take my time and enjoy every delicacy your body has to offer.”
He sealed that vow with a kiss, capturing her whimper of need as the hard press of his lips forced hers open. Instantly his tongue licked over hers, intoxicating her with both the taste and feel of him. Like a fine wine he went straight to her head, leaving her weak and aching, desperate for more.
Lindsay sagged against him as Cooper took full control of the kiss, laying claim to both her mouth and her response. She gave herself over to him, allowing Cooper to show her all the delights hidden within a mere kiss. His tongue penetrated and stroked, teasing rallying hers to the battle, but just as Lindsay began to respond, Cooper pulled back.
“When you’re ready, you just let me know.”
With that he turned and walked away, leaving her standing there staring after him with only one thought running through her mind. She was in trouble. Very serious trouble.
* * * *
“Well, that went like crap.” Chet shoved a wad of gum into his mouth, having taken up the God awful smacking habit in his attempt to stop the even more disgusting smoking one. The man had to chew through a pound of the pink stuff a day. Worse, the rest of them had to listen to him. At least he smelled better.
The same couldn’t be said of Elton’s shack. Cooper glanced back at the old, weathered cabin, hoping to catch another glimpse at Lindsay Howell. She smelled like a dream—a hot, wet one that would assure he woke up drenched in more than just sweat.
“It would have helped if you hadn’t picked on the girl so much,” Teddy complained.
He shouldn’t have kissed her, but his lust had been roiled by the intoxicating scent of apples and cinnamon that clung to Lindsay. God but she tasted sweeter than she smelled and felt softer than she looked. Craving more with every breath he took, Cooper would have charged right back up her drive to claim what he already considered his if it hadn’t been for the other men standing in his way.
“Please,” Pete spat. “That girl is too damn difficult for her own fucking good. Isn’t that right, Buddy?”
“Too damn.” Buddy nodded before turning his scowl on Cooper. “Of course, you could have tried to be a little more forceful, boss man. You let that girl walk all over you.”
Lindsay’s arrogance might have pissed the rest of them off, but it only flamed the hunger burning in Cooper’s balls higher. Then again everything about the girl seemed to intensify his need to all-new levels of want. He bet that would correspond to all new peaks of ecstasy once he had her bound and begging beneath him.
“Yeah, man.” Neil backed up Buddy with a stiff nod. “What the hell got into you? You were supposed to be convincing the girl to give us the land not sizing her up like she’s the future Mrs. Cooper.”
Cooper bet she had the prettiest pink pussy. He could already imagine how good her plump folds would look split wide around the blunt head of his cock. She’d look good and feel even better. Cooper’s dick swelled at the very thought of being caught in the molten warmth of Lindsay’s cunt.
“The boss isn’t going to let any woman walk all over him,” Pete chipped in, loyally defending Cooper even as he picked on him. “Isn’t that right, lil’ bit?”
“Fuck you,” Cooper shot back without any real heat.
“Enough!” Chet snapped, his temper getting the better of him. “We don’t have time for jokes. Lindsay Bryne has control over our water, and we need to get access to it.”
“I think that’s just what the boss was planning,” Pete snickered as the rest of the men chuckled. “He’s going to fuck that land right out of the bitch. Right, boss? Once you got her at your beck and call, you’ll just tell her where to sign and that land is as good as yours.”
Before Cooper could tell Pete to mind his manners, Nick took care of the matter for him. “Shut the fuck up, Pete, or I’ll tell your old woman what your monthly trips to Hays are really about.”
“What? There ain’t no need for those kind of threats,” Pete complained. “I was just joking, man. Try to grow a sense of humor, why don’t you?”
“Maybe I don’t want one.”
“Then I sure am sorry about that.”
“Don’t apologize to him, Pete.” Chet stepped between the two men, getting right into Nick’s face. “Because you’re only speaking the truth. That woman is crazy. Certifiable. As in just released from the asylum. A good fucking probably would straighten the bitch right out.”
Cooper moved faster than Nick, managing to catch his brother’s arm before he could smash a fist into Chet’s face. Throwing Nick back a couple of feet, Cooper inserted himself between his brother and Chet.
“Enough!” Forcing Nick to take a few steps back, Cooper advanced on him, herding him toward the front of his truck. “Whatever point you wanted to make—you did. So now it’s time to step back and cool off.”
He’d never had to give that advice to Nick before. His brother had always had a happy-go-lucky, can-do kind of attitude, but things had been different since Nick had left the military. It didn’t matter how many smiles Nick tried to hide the truth behind. Cooper could tell something was wrong.
“Fine. I’ll let it go.” After a long hard silence, Nick stepped back, offering his hands up in surrender. “But if that asshole ever speaks about Lindsay that way again…”
Nick left his threat dangling
as he turned to wrench open his door and climb into the truck. He didn’t need to finish the thought. Cooper knew what came next. In this instance, he couldn’t completely blame his brother. He didn’t care for how Pete and Chet had spoken about Lindsay, but Cooper knew that to object would only invite further comment. Besides it wasn’t like Pete meant it. Chet, on the other hand, was a totally different story.
“That boy ain’t right in the head.” Chet heaved a heavy sigh as Cooper turned back to face the men clustered around the tail of his truck.
Buddy shook his head at Cooper as his gaze remained fixed on Nick. “He is wound way too tight, boss man. That ain’t going to end good.”
“Not if you assholes keep picking on him like that.” It didn’t matter if Nick was in the wrong. He was still Cooper’s brother.
“Picking on him?” Pete stopped rubbing his jaw to stare at Cooper in awed amazement. “I was picking on the girl, and unless I’m just dumb as dirt, that’s allowed. She’s the enemy.”
“Oh, for God’s sake, she’s not an enemy.” Cooper rolled his eyes at that description. Leave it to Pete to exaggerate the situation.
“Yes. She is.” Chet scowl deepened as he stared at Cooper in amazement. “I thought you understood that.”
“I understand that she’s a complication.” Cooper stressed that word because he didn’t want there to be any misunderstanding. “And one I promised to manage.”
“And if you can’t?”
“I don’t go to war against women, Chet. What about you?”
Chet considered that question before shrugging. “Hopefully, your ‘make love not war’ plan will work and I won’t have to. Tell the truth, boss, are you planning on seducing the land out of the girl?”
“Like the boss is stupid enough to get his dick anywhere near that ball-shocking bitch.” Buddy snorted, referencing the rumors that had circulated a couple of years back.
