Amber
I might have laughed at the horrified, scandalized expression on Mrs. Grimes’s face, but since I was currently half naked and in a state of pure bliss, I decided to shut my mouth this once and let the guys do the talking.
“Well, I never,” Mrs. Grimes cried. “I heard quite a commotion earlier, but this!”
“Mrs. Grimes,” Waylon said, withdrawing his hand from under my blanket and rising halfway.
“What on earth is going on in this house?” she demanded, fisting her hands on her hips. “I’m sure your mother will want to know what you’ve been up to in her house.”
“My mother?” I asked, pushing up onto my elbows before remembering that I was topless. The blanket slid down, and I flashed poor old Mrs. Grimes a full-frontal of my boobs.
Oops.
Her eyes widened, and her mouth puckered into the sourest expression I’d ever seen. “My heavens,” she exclaimed, grasping behind her for the doorknob but missing. “Your mother certainly will be interested in this.”
“This isn’t our mother’s house anymore,” Waylon growled. “It’s our house. And I don’t remember inviting you in.”
“I can see why,” she said in a huff, grabbing the doorknob at last. “And I certainly wouldn’t want an invitation now that I know just what goes on in this house.”
With that, she yanked open the door, stepped out into the darkness, and slammed the door shut behind her.
“Fuck,” Waylon said, taking off his hat and hurling it across the room.
“What should we do?” Holden asked.
“Nothing we can do,” Sawyer said. “Did you see her face? There’s going to be trouble for sure.”
“You’d think she’s never heard of a woman falling in a cow trough before,” I said indignantly.
“How’d you manage that?” Sawyer asked, a grin starting to spread across his sexy, dark lips.
“The bull chased me in,” I said, punching him on the arm. “Don’t laugh. I almost died.”
“We need to hire you a bodyguard,” Waylon said. “It’s a full-time job keeping you out of trouble around here.”
“The only trouble I see around here is you,” I shot back.
“I thought all we had to do was keep you away from cowboys,” Sawyer said. “I didn’t think we’d have a problem with cows.”
“It was a bull,” I protested.
“Bullshit it was a bull,” Waylon said. “That was straight up heifer.”
“Okay, how was I supposed to know?” I asked, throwing up my hands. The blanket slipped again, and this time, all three of them had a fine time ogling my boobs before I pulled it back. I took a deep breath and tried to compose myself and not notice the looks on their faces. “Whatever it was, it outweighs me by about two tons, and it was attacking me.”
“She’s just being friendly,” Sawyer said with a Cheshire grin. “They like to play a little. Tease you a bit. She’d never hurt you.”
“You sure you’re still talking about the cow?” I asked, looking him up and down.
“And you can tell if it’s a heifer because it has udders,” Holden said in his low, soft voice, interrupting our moment.
“Okay, okay, I probably should have known that,” I admitted. “But still. It wasn’t like I was going to crawl under it and see what was hanging down between its legs.”
“That’s probably smart,” Sawyer said, his eyes sparkling with laughter.
“What do we do now?” Holden asked, seating himself beside me on the bearskin rug, his legs stretched out towards the fire.
“I think I should probably get dressed,” I said. “In my own clothes.”
“Veto,” Sawyer said.
“Shut up,” I said, pulling the blanket up to my neck.
“You should stay wrapped up,” Holden said. “Your body temperature will take a while to go back to normal.”
“I wouldn’t mind sleeping right here by the fire,” I admitted.
“And there’s nothing to worry about with nosy old Mrs. Grimes,” Sawyer said to Waylon, who was scowling towards the window.
“I should have stopped and talked to her out there,” Waylon muttered. “I was trying to get Amber back to the house.”
“And you did, and we got her warmed up good,” Sawyer said, with a knowing smile aimed in my direction.
“Yeah, nothing happened,” Holden said. “It might have looked bad, but there was nothing going on.”
“You know how she gossips,” Waylon said. “She’s probably on the phone to our mother right now, and after that, she’ll be calling Dad.”
“And we’ll tell him we’re just getting her warmed up,” Sawyer said with a grin.
“You better be ready to back up those words, big boy,” I said with a sexy smile. “You can’t get me warmed up and then leave me hanging.”
The smile faltered on his face a bit, and I secretly reveled at the looks flying around the room between the three of them. Did they think I meant it?
Did I?
A blast of wind whipped against the house, whistling across the eaves. I shivered and pulled the blanket tighter around me.
“I’m going to bed,” Waylon said, standing abruptly. He was still wearing his long johns, and I tried not to ogle his package through the thin fabric. I couldn’t help but notice it was an exceptionally good-sized package. A shiver of longing went through me, and I felt a warmth swelling between my legs, clad only in his pants. If something happened between us, would his brothers find out? Surely our parents never had to.
My eyes climbed his body and met his, and a jolt of connection sizzled through me. I was sure he knew exactly what I’d been thinking. And that he was thinking the exact same thing.
“I’ll make sure your mother doesn’t find out about this,” he said to me. “Because nothing inappropriate happened, and nothing ever will. You’re our sister, and that’s all you’ll ever be to us.”
His words were harsh and accusatory, and I felt the rejection like a slap. He knew what I was thinking, all right—but he didn’t share those feelings. Instead of reciprocating my feelings, he was reproaching me. My face burned with shame and anger. I knew nothing could happen between us. Just thinking of the humiliation my mother would feel if instead of learning responsibility, I hooked up with my own stepbrothers, made a wave of shame wash over me.
And I sure as hell wasn’t going to put myself through having to admit that to her. But here Waylon was, acting like I’d propositioned him. I couldn’t help it that I had a wandering eye and an itch that no one had ever scratched.
“Our job is to keep you out of trouble with her, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do,” Sawyer said, his voice not so accusatory, but equally resolved.
I couldn’t help but notice that he’d said he would keep me from getting in trouble with her. Not that he’d keep me from doing things she wouldn’t approve of. Like being massaged by my three sexy stepbrothers at once, on a bearskin rug in front of a fireplace. While topless.
When Waylon had gone, Holden leaned over and lay a hand over my forehead. “Are you going to be okay?”
“I’m fine,” I said, though I didn’t know if I’d ever feel warm again. I didn’t know if I’d ever felt so frustrated, either. Everything I’d ever wanted was right here in front of me, but I couldn’t have any of it. Any of them. I wanted to scream.
“I hope so,” Holden said. “Because it’s supposed to snow tonight, and sometimes it takes a while to get out after a good snow. You sure you don’t need to go see a doctor?”
“We can doctor you up,” Sawyer said, smiling down at me. Their two concerned faces hovered over mine, both of theirs rimmed with felt cowboy hats.
“I’m sure you can,” I said. “But which one of you gets to be the doctor?”
“I’m the doctor tonight,” Sawyer said. “I’m going to sit up with you all night. Make sure you’re okay.”
“I’m okay,” I assured him. “If I need tea or anything, I can make it.”
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“I told my father I’d look after you,” he said. “And I can’t sleep on stormy nights, anyway. Consider it a chance to sit up late talking, getting to know your new brother, and being waited on hand and foot.” He winked at me, and I felt a thrill of excitement growing inside me. I didn’t know how I was going to resist these guys all winter. And worse still, I didn’t know which ones I wanted to resist, and which one I wanted to keep. A sneaking suspicion began to dawn inside me. I wasn’t falling for one of my hot cowboy stepbrothers.
I was falling for all three of them.
19
Amber
As the wind howled outside the large wooden cabin my three stepbrothers owned, I huddled down into the blanket one of them had laid over me after another one had pulled me from a trough of icy cow water. Oh god, I’d fallen in the cow water. I wanted to smack my own forehead. I’d never live this one down.
“You ready for a warm drink?” Sawyer asked, emerging from the kitchen looking sinfully gorgeous in a pair of jeans, a flannel, cowboy boots, and a cowboy hat. I’d never seen him in anything else.
But I wouldn’t mind seeing him in a lot less, my shameless mind said.
I nearly groaned out loud. I seriously needed to stop lusting after him, not to mention the other two. If anything happened between any of us… Holden was so sweet I thought I’d ruin him for life, and Waylon was so rough I thought he’d ruin me for life.
And then there was Sawyer, who never stopped flirting long enough for me to think about him the way I should—as a brother.
Carrying a mug in each hand, he lowered himself to the bearskin rug beside me. I sat up, careful to keep the blanket wrapped around myself so I wouldn’t flash him. Sawyer handed me a mug of steaming apple cider before hopping up and retrieving all the cushions from the couch. He set them behind me so I had something to lean on, then scooted in beside me, so close our shoulders were pressed against each other.
“To more nights like this,” he said, toasting me with his mug. “So we can get to know each other better.”
“Minus the near-hypothermic diving lesson,” I said, bumping my mug against his. The others had gone to bed, so it was just the two of us, waiting to see how much snow fell outside while we stayed warm and cozy inside.
“I have a question,” I said. “If we’re getting to know each other.”
Sawyer grinned. “Is this like truth or dare?”
“Sort of,” I said. “But for now, just truth. Why don’t any of you have girlfriends?”
“Who says we don’t?”
“You did,” I reminded him.
“I said we weren’t married.”
“So you have a girlfriend?”
“No,” he admitted with a grin.
“I asked Holden, but he changed the subject,” I said. “So tell me. What’s the big secret?”
Sawyer squinted at the fire for a minute, then nodded. “I guess you deserve to know, seeing as how Mrs. Grimes is probably going to make a fuss about what she saw.”
“What does that have to do with it?”
“We had a…a woman living here,” he said. “For a while. Our grandpa was real excited to have all four of us living in the cabins. He lived in the big house. When he passed, we lived out there still. Waylon brought his woman out here to live in his cabin with him. But one day, she up and ran off with another man. We haven’t had another lady living out here since.”
“Who’s the four of you?” I couldn’t help but gulp at the thought of one more irresistible cowboy stepbrother. “Is there another brother I haven’t met?”
Sawyer’s voice went hard. “And you won’t meet him.”
“Because he’s the one who ran off with Waylon’s girlfriend.”
Sawyer nodded. “He’s been a little jaded about women ever since.”
“And what about you?” I asked. “You don’t seem jaded. You’re as much of a catch as Waylon.”
“Why, thank you, ma’am.”
“Come on, tell me,” I said, leaning over to press my shoulder against his solid one. “I’ll tell you my relationship status if you tell me yours.”
“We don’t get out a lot,” he said. “It was hard having a woman around and not having certain thoughts about her. I’m not good at hiding things. She knew it probably before I did. And she flirted with all of us, pitted us against each other. Things were a mess for a while when she left.”
“Holden liked her, too?”
Sawyer nodded. “The three of us who were left decided we were brothers first and always would be. Nothing will ever come between us again, not a woman, not money, not anything. We decided then to live here in this house together. There’s no jealousy about whose cabin is better, where a woman is sleeping, or who gets more land now that our granddad is gone. We’re not splitting the land and each taking a piece. We share everything. We have to agree on everything or it doesn’t happen. And that includes bringing a woman here to live. If one of us doesn’t like her, if she doesn’t get a unanimous vote of approval, we stop seeing her.”
“Wow,” I said. “That’s a lot to expect of a woman. She basically has to meet the standards of all three of you. No wonder you’re all single.”
Even though I wasn’t a woman they were interested in, I felt a rising resentment that they had to have such high standards. Good thing I wasn’t trying to impress them. If I was, I’d be shit out of luck, because Waylon had to think I was beyond stupid. He probably couldn’t wait to get rid of me.
Sawyer shifted and adjusted his jeans, pulling at the knees. It drew my attention straight to his crotch. I could see a bulge in his jeans that made me gulp. “What about you?” he asked. “I told you my story. What’s yours?”
I gave him my cheekiest grin. “I’m single,” I said, stifling a yawn before snuggling down under the blankets. “Ready to get some sleep?”
20
Amber
I woke up when Sawyer began to stir. We were lying on the floor, the pillows surrounding us, both under the same blanket. The fire had died down to nothing, and the wind had fallen silent. And something huge and hard was pressed firmly against my ass.
I peeked over my shoulder and saw Sawyer still asleep, his arms cocooning me in their warmth. The decent thing to do would’ve been to slip out from under the blankets and politely pretend I didn’t feel his cock give a throb against my backside. But I’d never been a decent girl.
I wriggled my hips a bit, pushing back into his lap. My god, that thing felt enormous! So enormous that I decided to investigate. I slipped my arm back and slid my hand down between us, my fingers wrapping around his thick shaft. Even through his jeans I could tell he was bigger than anything I’d ever encountered.
He moaned and pressed his hips forward, pressing his cock into my hand. Well, then. Maybe I’d met one brother’s standards. I couldn’t resist giving him a little squeeze, then running my hand up the length of his cock to the head. I moved it to one side, away from the zipper, and started tracing the outline through his jeans. He groaned again, his arms tightening around me, his hips pushing forward against mine.
I pulled my hand away and arched my back, nestling my ass down into his lap. His breathing went deeper as he pushed back, rocking his hips against mine. I couldn’t bear all the clothes between us, so many layers. In that exact position, but naked of course, he’d be ready to slide that enormous cock right into me.
But I heard the shower running upstairs, and footsteps walking across the floor, and I knew the other guys were getting up, too. I didn’t want to miss my chance to get to know him in one more way. I could make him forget all about that Maria bitch. And the truth was, I wanted to forget Charlie, too. Now that I knew Sawyer a little, I figured he’d be the guy to help me do just that. He was fun and hot as hell. Out of all the guys, he was the one most likely to overlook the small fact that our parents were married.
“Sawyer?” I whispered. “Should we take this upstairs?”
Sawyer rolled away, his eyes flutt
ering open. He looked at me like he’d never seen me before. But then his eyes cleared and he smiled. “Amber,” he said. “Guess I got you warmed up.”
“You have no idea,” I said.
He stood and adjusted that huge cock inside his jeans. I couldn’t help but stare. And salivate. With a grin, Sawyer leaned down to pat my hip. “You got me warm, too,” he said with a grin. “I better go take a shower.”
Without another word, he turned and trotted up the stairs.
I rolled onto my back and groaned, throwing my arm over my eyes. It was still dark out, which meant there was no earthly reason for me to be awake. Except that I was horny as fuck and surrounded by three hot as hell cowboys who were off limits. I groaned again.
“You okay there, Princess?”
I uncovered my eyes to see Waylon standing over me with a smirk on his face.
“I don’t know, Cowboy,” I said, standing with my back to him and dropping the blanket from my shoulders. My hair fell in tangles down my back, but I turned and gave him a meaningful look over my shoulder. “Am I?”
His face was blank and hard. “I’d like those back when you’re done with them,” he said, nodding at his pants.
“I’m done with them,” I said. They were sliding down my hips anyway. I just gave them a little help, hooking my fingers in the band and pulling them slowly down to my ankles, bending over as I did so. I stepped out of them, gathered them up, and turned to give them to Waylon. His face remained hard, his eyes black as midnight, his jaw clenched. I strolled over, picked up his hand, and pushed the pants into it. “Thanks for taking such good care of me,” I said, standing on tiptoes to brush a kiss across his cheek.
I darted up the stairs, a hysterical giggle building in my throat. I couldn’t believe I’d just done that! I blamed it on Sawyer for leaving me horny and the darkness for making me bold. It always seemed like whatever happened after dark didn’t count, that it wasn’t me. I could take too many shots of tequila or get sick out the door of a cab or make out with a club owner I’d never met. I could sneak a pint of ice cream out of the freezer and eat the entire thing while watching reruns of Community in worn-out sweatpants. If it happened in the dark, it seemed detached from the person I was in daylight.
Rope Me, Cowboys Page 7
