by Becca Van
Rand moved to stand in front of her and he was frowning at her as if he’d never seen her before. She guessed in a way he hadn’t. Nicole had let her temper free for the first time in front of the Bayhard brothers as a defense mechanism and she supposed now that he had seen she wasn’t a docile female that would just let anyone run roughshod over her that he wasn’t liking this side of her. Well, as far as she was concerned, that was just too damn bad.
These three brothers wanted to get into her pants, and she wasn’t about to go along with what they wanted just because they said so. Not without a fight at least, even if she knew deep down that she was fighting a losing battle.
But she wasn’t about to give in and if they didn’t like that, they could damn well go to hell!
Chapter Two
Rand watched Ty shift his hold on her until she could only move her legs, and Nicole must have realized she wasn’t going to get away because she stilled and panted heavily, trying to get her breath back after struggling to get away.
“Why, Nicole?” Brom asked.
Rand knew his brother was asking why she decided to fight them rather than talk, but he wondered if Nicole did. Her breathing had slowed but she still hadn’t looked up from the floor. Is she going to try to ignore us? He knew that wouldn’t work with Ty. His brother could be a real hard-ass at times and he hoped Ty didn’t push her too far and end up having her walk away from them.
The moment he’d laid eyes on her on the side of the highway in Chadron, Rand had been attracted to her. She was such a contradiction. Nicole could be shy and timid one moment and feisty the next. She was an enigma to him, but he wanted to learn all the facets to her personality. Nicole Maynard excited him like no other ever had and he suspected ever would again.
“What do you want from me?”
Rand stepped in closer and gently gripped her chin and lifted her head until she met his eyes. “We are attracted to you, sunshine. My brothers and I want to explore where this attraction between all of us could go. We know you are attracted to us too, so why the hell are you trying to hide it?”
Rand watched the expressions flit over her face. Although fear wasn’t one of them, nervous trepidation certainly was and that, he didn’t like one little bit. He released her chin and took a couple of steps back and then gave a slight nod to Ty who then removed his arms from her body and lowered them to his sides. If Nicole cared to look at Ty, she probably would have seen him standing there as if he didn’t have a care in the world, but he knew his brother better and saw the tightly clenched fists and the muscle ticking in his jaw. Ty was wound up tighter than a spring as he fought for control. It was hard for his domineering brother to step back and not do what he wanted when he wanted. He usually powered through any obstacle that stood in his way, looking neither left nor right until he’d reached his goal. But that wouldn’t work in this situation, and Rand was glad that Ty at least had enough nous to know when to back off.
Neither he nor his brothers tried to stop Nicole as she raced along the deck and then down the steps to the footpath. He sighed with frustration and turned to watch their woman storm off toward their house. His guts were a mass of knots and frustration but he would have to learn to live with that until they could get through to Nicole that they wanted her in their home, beds, and lives, permanently. But how they were going to achieve that was beyond him right at this moment.
“What the fuck was that all about?” Ty bit out and then slammed his fist down on the timber rail.
Brom spoke before Rand could. “She’s running scared…”
Ty spun around, the frustration in his body plain to see. The tendons and veins in his neck stood out and his fists were once more balled tightly. “You think I don’t know that?”
Brom moved closer to Ty and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Calm down, Ty. She’s not scared of us, she’s afraid of the way we make her feel. She’s running from her own emotions.”
“How the hell are we going to get through those walls she’s erected and get her to realize that what we want doesn’t have everything to do with lust?”
Rand inhaled deeply when the epiphany hit. Nicole Maynard may be fearful of what they made her feel, but not once had any of them sat down to explain that what they wanted with her was for the rest of their lives. If she had been hurt before, and he was pretty sure she had, considering how she kept her emotions locked away tight and she had no idea what they wanted from her, then of course she was going to baulk.
“Shit.” Rand scrubbed a hand over his face. “We’ve gone about this all wrong.”
“You think?” Brom asked facetiously but from the puzzled look on his face, Rand’s younger brother had no idea how to fix things with their woman.
“We told her that we wanted to share her in bed but not once have we told her that we care for her and could very well be falling in love with her.” Rand scrubbed a hand over his face and sighed. “God knows what the previous men in her life have done to her, and then we tell her what we want and expect her to fall in line with our needs. Not once have we tried to woo her or thought about what she needed.”
“Fuck!” Ty began to pace and then turned to Rand. “You’re right, goddamn it. No wonder she fought and ran.”
“We’ve got to back off and give her time, but if we get her alone in a one-on-one situation we should try to ease her into having a relationship with us,” Brom said. “We’ve got to stop thinking with our dicks and start using our heads as well as our hearts.”
“She’s not going to want to have anything to do with me after what just happened,” Ty said as he walked toward the porch steps. Rand and Brom followed behind.
Rand kept his voice low in case any of the ranch hands were around. “She will if you stop running right over the top of her, Ty. Nicole is a smart woman and has a mind of her own. You’ll get through to her more if you soften up a bit and ask instead of dictating.”
“So you expect me to change to woo her, but what the fuck is gonna happen when we finally catch her and I go back to my normal arrogant self?”
“That’s not what he means, Ty.” Brom grabbed Ty’s arm to halt him in his tracks. “What Rand is saying is that you need to lighten up a little and be more flexible. Everything is black and white to you, but not every situation is straightforward, and sometimes you have to compromise and look at the gray.”
“I don’t want you to change, Ty.” Rand sighed. “I want us all to be ourselves, but don’t push as hard. Maybe then she won’t get her hackles up and push back. We forced her into a corner tonight until she had nowhere to go. Of course she was going to come out fighting. All of us need to take a few steps back and give her some room. When she realizes that we don’t want to control her life, well, then maybe she will be willing to meet us halfway and want to be with us.”
“Okay. I’m not promising anything, but I’ll try.” Ty picked up his pace and then disappeared inside their home.
“Do you really think it will work?” Brom asked.
“I don’t know, but it can’t hurt.”
“We still haven’t told her about our abilities. I’ve kept my mental shield in place at all times, but it doesn’t seem to matter. I can still feel the lust she feels for us beating at me.”
“We all do, Brom, and that has been one of our downfalls with Nicole so far. We’ve been arrogant assholes and believed that because she desires us she would be willing to fall into bed with us. She thinks we only want her for sex and has no clue that to us it would be making love. The only way we are going to get through to her is if we show her she means more to us than just a body. When she accepts that then we tell her about our abilities.”
“We have to tell her before we become intimate with her, Rand. It wouldn’t be fair to Nicole if we made love to her first before she knew everything.”
“Yeah, I know. That is something I’m not looking forward to.”
“Sara accepted our team leader’s abilities without a qualm.” Brom started walking a
gain.
“Yes, but she also asked the right questions. It hasn’t occurred to Nicole to question why we were in the right place at the right time.”
“You’re right again.” Brom sighed and halted at the bottom of the steps that led to their front door.
“We have to tell her soon.” Rand ran his fingers through his hair. “Every damn time I touch her I feel sparks of electricity shooting between us and I keep getting these visions of her naked between the three of us as we make love to her.”
“Shit,” Brom groaned. “I get that, too. I don’t touch her too long, otherwise I would be insane with lust by now. It’s already fucking hard—in more ways than one, pun intended—being near her without the added pressure of seeing and feeling how it would be with her.”
“It’s a catch-22, isn’t it? We’re damned if we do and we’re damned if we don’t.”
“I couldn’t have put it any better myself, bro. Let’s go and get a good night’s sleep. Hopefully things will begin to look up with a new day.”
“God, I hope so,” Rand said quietly as he opened the front door. “It can’t get any fucking harder.”
Brom snorted when Rand adjusted his hard cock and then grimaced when he did the same.
* * * *
Ty paced back and forth across his bedroom. He was going out of his fucking mind with lust for Nicole. Her image was forever imprinted on his mind, as was her scent. She was so little compared to him and his brothers and only stood at around five foot five, with her strawberry blonde hair, sky blue eyes, and creamy white skin. When he’d touched that skin for the first time, he was so damn scared he would bruise her baby softness and made sure to keep his grip on her light, but by God he’d wanted to strip her naked and run his hands over every gorgeous fucking inch of her. She wasn’t skin and bone like so many women out there who starved themselves. No, she was a healthy weight for her size with nice rounded hips, a lush muscular ass and her breasts were at least a luscious handful, if not more.
He’d tried everything he could to keep his libido under wraps, but nothing he did was working. His mind kept going back to the amazing kiss he had shared with Nicole not long ago, and he swore he could still feel her lips on his. So he woke early every morning and was out of the house before she rose from bed, out with the ranch hands, working his ass off, and didn’t make an appearance until it was time to go to the main house for dinner. But every time he was near Nicole, he was swamped with mixed emotions and lust. At first he’d thought it was his own arousal that was causing the trouble, but then he remembered how his team leaders had been able to connect with Sara-Jane’s emotions before they’d even met the woman and he wondered if he was somehow picking up on what Nicole was feeling.
It made sense, since he was damn sure that he wanted her in his life as well as his bed, so the confusing emotions he felt warring against each other had to be Nicole’s.
Ty felt bad over how he had restrained Nicole and tried to get her to answer Rand’s question, but as far as he was concerned in all relationships there had to be complete honesty. And there would be a relationship. It was just a matter of time. He was determined that she would end up in their bed and they would find a way to work their way into her heart, since she had already entrenched herself into his.
What worried him the most was how was he going to get her to seek them out? He wanted Nicole to like, no, love him for who he was. If he became too lenient while wooing her and then went back to his normal hard-ass self, there would no doubt be big problems.
Ty would just have to take one day at a time and hope to God that opportunities arose where he could touch Nicole more and get her used to his touch and dominant ways. The more he was around her hopefully the more comfortable she got. It was going to be hard on him since he couldn’t seem to block out all her emotions and because he walked around with a hard-on whenever she was nearby or whenever he thought of her, but that couldn’t be helped.
Some of the tension in his body eased, and with a sigh he rose to his feet and headed back out to the kitchen. He and his brothers needed a plan if they were going to circumvent the walls Nicole had erected. He just hoped that whatever they came up with worked.
* * * *
Nicole had heard the three Bayhard brothers return to the house but she had no intention of facing them again tonight. She was feeling a little embarrassed over the way she had reacted, now that she’d had time to think things through, but since she couldn’t change the past, she would just have to ignore her childish behavior and hope they did, too. Or she was going to have to eat humble pie and apologize.
She was currently curled up in bed and trying to get to sleep, but her mind was spinning in circles and from previous experience she knew she wouldn’t be sleeping any time soon. With a sigh she lifted her head from the pillow, turned it over, gave it a couple of thumps then rested her head on it again. But she was so het up from earlier in the evening she couldn’t seem to get comfortable. Her mouth was so dry that she needed a drink of water, but she didn’t want to leave her room in case she encountered one of the men. Ty, Rand, and Brom had all retired a couple of hours ago and she hadn’t heard anything from them since, so maybe she could risk sneaking out to the kitchen to relieve her thirst.
Nicole pushed the covers back and stood up. She eyed the long T-shirt she’d borrowed from Rand and wore to sleep in, and since it covered her almost from neck to knee, decided she was decent enough. That was another thing she had to do. She was sick of wearing borrowed clothes, and since she couldn’t have her things shipped here—for safety reasons—she was going to have to go shopping. Maybe when May went grocery shopping next she could go with her and she could pick up some essentials.
Nicole held her breath as she turned the handle and pulled the door open enough for her to slip through. She stayed close to the wall and quietly made her way toward the kitchen and hoped she remembered where all the furniture in the living room was so she wouldn’t crash into it, since it was dark. Although there was a clear walkthrough she shouldn’t have any problems and make any noise that would wake the men up.
Sighing with relief when she managed to skirt around the furniture without bumping into it, she entered the kitchen, got out a glass and filled it with water. After gulping the first glassful down, she refilled it and went to sit on a stool on the other side of the counter.
She felt the presence just before the light was switched on and she blinked a couple of times to adjust her eyesight to the brightness. Her breath hitched in her throat when Ty walked in, his chest totally bare. He was only wearing a pair of jeans, which were low on his hips. He looked so damn sexy with his wide shoulders, thick biceps and pectorals and his delineated abdominal muscles. Her gaze moved lower over his narrow hips to his densely muscled thighs. When she realized what she was doing, she snapped her eyes up and met his gaze and hoped the heat in her face wasn’t a noticeable blush in her cheeks.
“Are you okay, babe?” Ty walked to the fridge and got out the jug of sweet tea.
“Yes, I’m fine.” Nicole shifted on her stool and began to trace lines on the condensation on the outside of her glass.
“Are you having trouble sleeping?”
“Yeah,” she sighed and then before she could think over what she was doing, her mouth was in gear. “I’m sorry about earlier tonight. I don’t know why I behaved that way.”
Ty poured his drink, put the jug back in the fridge and then walked around the counter and sat beside her.
“I’m sorry, too. I shouldn’t have handled you like that.”
Nicole nodded, met his eyes for a moment, and then looked back down again. She could feel the heat emanating from his body and her body decided it liked what it felt. Her breasts began to swell and her nipples puckered and hardened, brushing against the material of the cotton shirt. Moisture leaked from her sex onto her panties when her inner muscles clenched. Squeezing her thighs together surreptitiously did nothing to stop the throbbing in her pussy. In fact
it only made the lustful ache worse.
A shiver worked its way down and then back up her spine when Ty’s warm humid breath caressed her ear, and then she visibly shuddered when he spoke quietly.
“I know you’re turned on by my brothers and me, babe. I can see your hard nipples and can smell that delicious cream soaking that little cunt.”
Nicole bowed her neck more so that her hair covered part of her face as she tried to hide the heat in her cheeks, but Ty obviously wasn’t about to let her get away with hiding from him. He reached over with his hand and firmly but gently gripped her chin until she was looking him in the eyes.
“God, you’re beautiful. You have no fucking idea how sexy you are, do you?”
Nicole shook her head slightly and although she tried to pull her gaze from his, she couldn’t seem to manage it. She felt as if she was drowning in those deep green pools and had no idea how to pull herself out of them.
Ty leaned closer and closer, until her vision blurred and she lowered her eyes to his lips. She watched them move as he spoke, yearning to feel those masculine lips on her own.
“You’re ours, Nicole. We aren’t going to let you keep us at arm’s length a moment longer.”
She opened her mouth to reply but the words died when his mouth covered hers.
Chapter Three
Nicole gasped when Ty pushed his tongue into her mouth and then she moaned as he slid it along hers. She felt herself falling into him and reached out with both hands until they landed on his rock-hard, muscular shoulders. His skin was warm beneath her hands and she could feel the muscles rippling under hers. And then she groaned as he wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her up into his arms without breaking the kiss. She knew they were moving, but her eyelids were weighted with desire and she couldn’t open them to see where he was taking her. But moments later she didn’t need to.
