by Leah Brooke
Readjusting the shawl, she inadvertently gave both of them an enticing flash of nipple. “This won’t work.”
Wondering if she knew how adorable she looked with her chin lifted and her arms folded over her chest, Jeremiah grinned, hoping her shawl slipped again. “Yeah, honey. It will. Make no mistake about that.”
When Eb stood and started forward, Jeremiah recognized the determination in his brother’s eyes even if Maggie didn’t.
Sticking out an arm to hold off his brother, Jeremiah grinned and took another step toward Maggie. “Allow me.”
Bending, he lifted her over his shoulder and started for the bedroom, ignoring her struggles and holding her in place with a hand on her lush ass. “Settle down, Maggie. It’s time for bed.”
“You’re not sleeping with me, damn it. I want to be alone.” She punched his back and then with a growl, sunk her sharp teeth into him.
Shocked at her aggression, he couldn’t deny that the challenge of taming her had his cock hardening again. “Damn it, Maggie. Let go before I paddle your ass!”
Eb ran a hand under her shawl and over the naked cheeks of her bottom, stunning her into releasing Jeremiah. “You’ll sleep between us from now on. Damn, woman, you’re high-strung. I thought sex would settle you down.”
Maggie came alive again, shrieking and beating on Jeremiah’s back. “Stop touching me!”
Eb lifted the shawl over her head and slapped her naked ass in retaliation. “Behave, little girl. You’ve had a big day. It’s time for bed.”
“You can’t tell me what to do, and I’m not a little girl, damn it!”
Chuckling, Jeremiah ran a hand up her leg, turning his head to nip her wiggling ass and grinning at his brother when she squealed. “Oh, yes, honey. We can.”
Hell, at least she wasn’t crying.
Continuing to the bedroom, Jeremiah couldn’t resist caressing the bare bottom he held anchored over his shoulder, savoring the silky firmness. “Life’s gonna be different for you now, Maggie.”
Dropping her onto the bed, he lay on top of her so she couldn’t move and looked into her eyes. “Now stay here so I can go get a warm cloth for your pussy. Let me take care of you.”
He couldn’t explain it—didn’t understand it himself. He just knew that the need for intimacy had become so strong, he couldn’t let her go.
Her blue eyes shot sparks at him. “You’re not touching me there again. Just go back to Oklahoma, and leave me the hell alone.”
Not bothering to hide his impatience, he grabbed her hands and raised them above her head. Angry at himself, his temper snapped. “We fucked you, Maggie. I took your virginity. You’re going to be sore, and I want to take care of you. You could be carrying our baby even now. You’re coming to Oklahoma with us, and if you give me any lip about it, I’ll spank you good.”
* * * *
Hours later, Jeremiah frowned into the darkness, running his hand over Maggie’s soft hair.
She’d gone to sleep mad at him for threatening her yet again, and now he just couldn’t settle.
Consumed by thoughts of her—her beauty, her sweetness, her passion, he couldn’t relax and held himself stiffly next to her. He’d just taken her virginity, and the hurt look in her eyes was like a kick from a bull.
Thinking about her being pregnant with his child had sent such an overwhelming rush of emotion through him, tumbling him off balance, that he’d reacted in anger.
He’d calmed down since then but still felt off-balance.
The revelation he’d had filled him with awe as much as it scared him to death.
Why the hell hadn’t he even anticipated falling in love with her?
Chapter Five
Aware that she did her best to ignore him, Eb watched Maggie during dinner the next evening, her delicate blush telling him that she was aware of his scrutiny.
She looked so small and confused as she sat there pushing food around her plate. She hadn’t joined in the conversation except for one word answers when they’d asked about her packing this afternoon.
But he knew his Maggie from the past would be plotting revenge and had no reason to believe the woman she’d become would react any differently.
Because she’d been the darling of the ranch her entire life and had always been spoiled, it wasn’t often that she felt the need for revenge, but when she did, she never let up until she evened the score.
The woman sitting next to him now would probably be even more intent on getting even.
Damned if he wasn’t looking forward to it.
He hadn’t seen her this morning, and he’d thought about her all day, a day spent in town after being shooed away by Esmeralda.
The two women had spent several hours loading the trunks he and Jeremiah had taken over to the small house. He’d wanted to stay and help, but Esmeralda had other ideas.
“Maggie needs to pack her things and gather what she wants to take of her father’s. I want to spend some time alone with her before she leaves. You can come back to get the trunks later.”
So he and Jeremiah had spent the day in town with several of the ranch hands, buying up as many supplies as he could. Blade, Hawke, and Phoenix would make sure that several of the men came with buckboards to the train station in Tulsa to meet them, and they would buy more supplies there before they left.
Getting supplies had always been a hardship, so they wanted to get as many as they could to take back to the Circle T. This time he’d simply bought out the store, not knowing what Maggie would like or need.
Or any of the other women he’d advertised for.
The thought of taking Maggie back home to a ranch filled with randy men set him on edge. He knew most of his men well and didn’t believe for one minute that they’d be stupid enough to be forward with Maggie, but he’d seen enough shootouts over women that it made him uneasy.
His father nodded in agreement as Jeremiah finished telling him about advertising for women.
“Makes sense. Besides, Maggie’ll be anxious for some female company. Just make sure you protect these women, or word’ll get out and no decent woman will show her face there. Men will come to your ranch in droves looking for easy pickin’s.”
Esmeralda touched Maggie’s arm from the other side. “That’s right, and you’d better make sure Maggie’s not surrounded by women with loose morals. If you want decent women, you’re gonna have to treat ’em that way.”
As Maggie’s eyes lifted to touch on both him and Jeremiah, a blush reddened her cheeks, and she hurriedly looked away, reaching for her glass.
“I don’t think they want decent women there, Esmeralda. I think warm bodies are enough for them.”
Eb shared a look with his brother, amused and relieved at the return of Maggie’s usual spunk. Still anticipating whatever her devious mind planned in retaliation, he sat back, confident he could handle her.
“Maggie knows better. Don’t worry about the women that come there. They’ll be looked after, protected, and provided for, but there’ll be strict rules for them to follow, and it’ll be up to their men to make sure they follow those rules.” He paused for effect, waiting until Maggie met his gaze. “They’ll be punished for disobeying them.”
Esmeralda paused with her fork halfway to her mouth and lowered it again. “Punished how?”
Maggie stood, almost knocking over her glass. “Esmeralda, let’s get dessert. My mouth’s been watering all day for your apple pie.”
Jeremiah didn’t bother to cover his smile. “They’ll have their bottoms paddled, but what’ll be worse is that everyone else will know they’ve had a spanking.”
Maggie plopped back into her chair, her eyes wide. “You don’t mean that you’d—that the men who spank women would let other men watch?”
Eb wanted to laugh out loud at her horrified expression but settled for letting his lips twitch. “No, but since every woman can expect the same thing when they don’t do what they’re told, everyone will know.”
Es
meralda shot a worried glance at their father. “What’s gonna happen when you’re out on the range? Who’s gonna protect Maggie?”
Smiling to ease the housekeeper’s fears, Eb turned when he heard a knock at the door and tossed his napkin on the table to stand. “Someone will be watching her at all times, and she’ll just have to do what they say while we’re away. If she doesn’t mind them, we’ll deal with her just as soon as we get back.”
Hell, he would have to make damned sure he trusted whoever protected her. He trusted his men to be loyal to the brand and with his livestock, but there were damned few of them he would trust with Maggie.
He had an uneasy feeling that having women there would change all their lives in ways he couldn’t even fathom. He’d been away from decent women for too long that he’d forgotten just how much trouble they could be.
The whores that passed through fawned all over the men and did whatever they wanted them to do, and got paid handsomely for it.
Having a wife appeared to be a whole different matter.
Cursing his short-sightedness, he opened the front door, surprised to find Hayes and Wyatt standing there.
Both men stood at his eye level, the aura of danger surrounding them a tangible thing. The only reason he could think of for them to come to his door was Savannah. “Is Savannah hurt?”
Hayes shook his head. “Not yet, and we want to keep it that way.”
Wyatt removed his hat and rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. “We’d like to talk in private. It’s kind of a delicate subject.”
Wordlessly, Eb moved aside and gestured toward his father’s study. “We can talk in here.”
Seeing Jeremiah coming down the hall, he left the door to the study open and went inside, gesturing for the two men to take a seat. He waited until his brother came in and closed the door behind him, before moving behind his father’s desk to sit.
“All right. What do you want to talk about?”
Hayes and Wyatt looked at each other, some silent communication passing between them before Hayes lowered himself into one of the chairs in front of their father’s desk. “Are you really both married to Maggie?”
Stiffening, Eb narrowed his eyes, anger tightening his belly. He leaned back and eyed the other men coldly. “That’s none of your concern.”
Hayes nodded. “True, but I’m asking for a reason.”
Jeremiah came farther into the room and took a seat on the sofa, crossing one foot over the other knee and smiling faintly. “Does this reason have anything to do with a dark-haired, dark-eyed niece of a preacher?”
Wyatt nodded and smiled grimly. “It does. We’ve heard you’re taking Maggie back to that big ranch you have in Oklahoma. Will everyone accept both of you as her husbands?”
Eb folded his arms across his chest. “You seem to be taking a lot of interest in how we handle our wife.”
Hayes mimicked his gesture. “Like I said, we have our reasons. We’re wondering if there’s a place we can live the same way with Savannah.”
Shrugging, Eb smiled faintly. “We own the place and can live there any damned way we want. If you want to marry Savannah and move there, you should have no trouble with my men. I’m sure Maggie’ll love having her friend so close. Savannah’ll probably feel the same way.”
Jeremiah turned from where he poured whiskey and grinned. “We’ve already advertised for mail-order brides for our ranch hands. Figured that if the men knew women would be coming, they’d leave ours alone.”
Wyatt frowned into the whiskey Jeremiah handed to him. “I can’t stand by much longer and watch Savannah’s uncle mistreat her. She won’t even admit it, but I’ve seen bruises on her arms.”
Sharing a look with Hayes, he sighed. “She’s up to something, too, but we don’t know what it is. Has your wife said anything?”
Eb sat forward to accept the glass from his brother. “Not a thing, but the Savannah I knew years ago got real quiet just before she was about to make trouble. I don’t know how well you know her, but she won’t accept help unless it’s shoved on her.”
Wyatt’s jaw tightened. “She won’t even talk to us about leaving. We made it plain that we both want her and that scared her off. It’s hard to get her to look at either one of us now, but, hell, we wanted to be honest straight off.” He took a sip of his drink and leaned back. “You’d really sell us a parcel of your land and let us settle there?”
Hayes cursed and shot to his feet. “Christ. What the hell would we do there, Wyatt? I’m a lawman, not a fucking rancher.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “How the hell would we support her?” He shot a glance at Eb and sighed. “We chased an outlaw here and arrested him. That’s when we met Savannah. We’re bounty hunters, damn it.”
Wyatt shrugged, eyeing his friend, before looking back at Eb. “We’ve taken some jobs close by, but roaming the country looking for outlaws lost its appeal once we met Savannah. We want to settle somewhere with her.”
Jeremiah reclaimed his seat. “We need lawmen, too. We spend too much time fighting cattle rustlers and bandits who come across us and decide to help themselves to whatever they want. They think that since we’re out in the middle of nowhere, we’re defenseless. God knows you’d be busy enough, and it would be worth it to hire you. The way things are going, it’ll be a damned town before long, especially once the women start arriving.”
Eb nodded. “And if we’re gonna get folks to move there, we need some kind of law, or they won’t stay long. I’ll be honest with you. I don’t have the time or the patience to be upholding the law while I’m trying to run my ranch.”
Hayes and Wyatt looked at each other, the silent communication between them obviously born of long friendship. Hayes narrowed his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest. “What kind of law?”
Eb chuckled at his wariness, more at ease with them than he’d been an hour ago. “Just the law. But we’ve got to do something about the women.” Remembering the interest Maggie displayed, he shrugged. “I promised my wife.”
Damn, it felt good to say that. My wife. Those two words filled him with a protective streak a mile wide.
He blew out a breath to relieve the pressure in his chest. “She’ll be the only woman there for a while, and when the others come we’ve got to make sure they’re protected until somebody claims them. I’d be glad to have that responsibility taken from my shoulders. I also think it would be a hell of a lot more effective if every man had an equal responsibility toward the women. Of course, their husbands would be the most directly responsible for them, but men are sometimes out on the range.”
Wyatt nodded. “I see your point. But what woman is gonna want to move there? If it’s as wild as you say it is, women won’t come unless they’re assured of protection.”
Hayes shook his head. “We can’t protect them properly and chase after cattle rustlers.”
Jeremiah laughed softly and leaned back, resting his elbow on the arm of the sofa. “Maggie already gave us the lecture about that. We have to promise to see to their safety. If we can promise women that every man there will treat them with respect and protect them, they might come. Our women will be much safer and more secure if every woman is protected by every man.
Hayes stilled. “That’s a hell of a plan, if you can pull it off.” He swirled his glass, staring into it. “But it’ll only work with men you really trust. Good men who want good women. A lot of them don’t.”
Eb nodded. “Any man who gives the women any trouble will be run off the place. We don’t have the time to deal with troublemakers.”
“What if the women don’t wanna be claimed?” The frustration in Hayes’ voice told Jeremiah that the two of them were having just such a problem with Savannah.
Jeremiah shared a look with Eb. “We can’t force a woman to accept a claim she doesn’t want, but we’d all be obligated to take care of all the women just the same. We can’t make them do something they don’t want to do or they’ll leave in droves. But we made it clear in the
advertisement that we wanted mail-order brides.”
Hayes grimaced and stood, moving to the window. “How the hell are we going to handle all those women? What if they start trouble between the men? Hell, I’m sure we’ve all seen that more than once.”
Eb’s cock twitched at the memory of Maggie’s firm ass wiggling on his lap. “Then they get their bottoms warmed to remind them to follow the damned rules.”
Wyatt grinned. “Spank them?”
Hayes’ brow went up. “What rules?”
Jeremiah stood, grabbed the whiskey bottle, and went to pour everyone another drink. “The rules we put in place to keep them safe when one of us isn’t around. Our top priority has to be taking care of the women or we’ll lose all control of everything. If they start putting themselves in harm’s way, it’ll make our job even harder. If they start pitting the men against each other, we’ll have fights, shooting…you name it. No, these women have to be under control from the first day, and they have to know it. The men also have to know that there’ll be no disrespect toward any of the women or they’ll have to deal with every other man there.”
Hayes sat back down, smiling for the first time since he walked through the front door. “You start turning women over your knee, and they’ll leave for sure. They tend to frown on that kind of thing.”
Eb frowned. “I’m not talking about beating them, but a warm bottom is a hell of a lot better than having them get kidnapped, raped, or worse. It’s also a lot better than my men killing each other.”
Jeremiah grinned, glancing toward the closed door and lowering his voice. “You just have to make sure they enjoy their spanking.” At the other men’s astonished looks, Jeremiah nodded. “Learned it from one of Trixie’s whores.”
Wyatt grinned, his eyes twinkling. “It sounds like a hell of a lot of fun, too.”
Eb thought about the gleam in Maggie’s eyes over dinner. “There’s also another advantage to it. If all women are punished the same way then everyone’ll know how they paid for their behavior. Hopefully, that’ll be enough to keep them out of trouble.”
