“Dalton’s gone to Billings. Wyatt’s rubbing Aimee’s feet and watching chick flicks this afternoon.” He breathed in her sweet scent of coconut and vanilla, gently raking his teeth across her flesh.
She smoothed her fingers through his hair. “Then we have some time. What you’d have in mind?” He glanced up at her and grinned.
“Driving you crazy.” He grew hard just thinking of what he wanted to do to her, to feel her hands on his body, to hear her soft groan like always when they came together. They’d agreed that they both wanted the companionship for as long as it lasted and when the time to part ways, there’d be no regrets. He searched her dark eyes and tried not to get sucked in—by her beauty, her honesty. She didn’t belong here. Eventually it wouldn’t be enough. Like Caroline, it was fun, but in the end, she’d leave him for the bright lights and big city.
He unsnapped her shorts and drew both down her shapely thighs. She wrapped her arms around his neck. “You just lean back, relax.”
“Glad this isn’t a wooden ladder.” She flashed him a smile.
He brushed his unshaven cheek against her soft flesh.
She leaned back, a proverbial banquet of his lust. Her dark eyes invited him—no challenged him—to make her scream. And he intended to do just that. It’d become a game of wits to out-pleasure one another. He’d done things, made love in places he’d never dreamt of. She was unconventional, encouraging him to be adventurous, and try new things in and out of bed. It fueled his creativity, took him outside the comfort zone he’d built around himself after Caroline left him.
Her skin was warm, her musky scent heady as he lifted her leg over his shoulder. He closed his mouth over her…tasting and teasing. Her fingers dug into his hair, tightening with the building of her climax. Her heel dug into his shoulder, her soft cries driving him to the brink. The ladder rocked against the floor. The desire to claim her, to know every part of her body, drove his need.
“Oh, Rein.” His name rolling off her tongue in a reverent whisper, nearly undid him. She sighed and with a smile, slid into his embrace covering his mouth in a sensuous kiss. He eased her to the floor. These days he carried protection at all times. Though she’d said indicated she took the pill he felt compelled to be as responsible for as often as they were together.
It was like that, one minute they were working on a project, the next unable to keep their hands off each other. She’d become a drug he needed daily—whether kissing her tempting mouth, making love and feeling her give as much as take, or bouncing around ideas on décor. The more time they’d spent together the more he’d found to admire. As much as he refused to believe that he could be falling for her, he had a hard time picturing her with another man. But he’d reserved those ideas, kept them to himself, not wanting to hear her remind him that they agreed to something temporary, that one day she’d leave him, leave the ranch.
“We’ve never done it on the floor.” She smiled drawing him into the warm, cradle of her thighs, taunting him before he could get his jeans down. A cough outside the cabin, and the crunch of gravel brought them both upright. Liberty scrambled into her shorts and stood. Rein, on his knees, grabbed a box and pretended to be helping unpack a lamp just as the front door opened.
“You guys in here?” Wyatt stuck his head inside and looked around.
“Hey,” Liberty said, her voice shook a bit. Or maybe Rein’s guilt at nearly being caught imagined it. Liberty turned away, pretending to unwrap a lampshade.
“Hey, thought chick flicks were on the agenda today?” Rein offered a friendly grin.
“Yeah, that was the plan. Fortunately, Aimee fell asleep on the couch. So I thought I’d sneak down here and see how things are going. Don’t tell her, but those movies about drive me nuts.” He stepped further into the room and surveyed the surroundings. “It’s looking good, guys.”
Rein and Liberty remained frozen in place.
Wyatt glanced over, his expression curious. “You two, okay?”
“Uh, just a bit of a scare, really. Liberty nearly fell off the ladder. But we’re okay…she’s okay. You okay, Liberty?” He glanced over his shoulder.
“Yep, I’m good. Good thing you were here though. That could have been a nasty fall.” She scooted past Rein, and made a bee-line for the kitchen. “Think maybe I need some water. Either of you need anything?”
With any luck, Wyatt bought the BS they were shoveling at him. His gaze followed Liberty before darting back to Rein. “No, thanks, I’m good.” His steady gaze remained on Rein. “Say, Aimee wanted me to ask if you’d like to go into Billings with her tomorrow. She wanted to pick up a few more things for the baby’s room.” He called out.
“Okay with me, providing boss man will let me go.” She peeked around the corner with a smile.
Wyatt’s brow crooked as he continued to stare at Rein.
Clearing his throat, he averted his brother’s questioning look, choosing physical excursion to redirect his curiosity. “Help me move this sofa into place, Wyatt.” He waited as he picked up the other end of the couch. “You think it’s wise for Aimee to travel?” Damn thing weighed a ton, but if it took that to flush the lascivious thoughts from his brain, then so be it.
That one look from Wyatt was a two-by-four reality check to his head. He and Liberty were both consenting adults, true, but it’d been a long time since Rein had kept any secrets from either of his brothers. He had a gut feeling that Wyatt had caught on to their little secret and he was about to find out how he felt about it. Hell, he wasn’t sure if he could explain how he felt about Liberty. Rein trudged forward, trying to avoid the obvious. “She’s getting to be as big as a barn.” Damn. Too much honesty.
Wyatt dropped his end of the couch and Rein followed, missing his toe by a slim margin.
“I meant that in a good way. You guys sure you’re not having twins?” Rein attempted to recover from his faux pas. Wyatt’s expression eased a little. He plopped down on the couch and wearily brushed his hand through his dark hair. “Yeah, I wondered the same thing. Doc swears there’s only one in there. Apparently, he’s just a big boy.”
“A boy?” This was the first that Wyatt had revealed this news, at least to him. He held his hand out to shake his brother’s hand. “Another Kinnison male. That’s terrific, Wyatt.”
“Thanks.” Wyatt gave him a shaky smile. I’m a little worried about Aimee. She’s such a tiny thing. Seems like lately, she’s tired all the time and her ankles….” He shook her head. “I’ve delivered a lot of horses in my day. But I don’t know how to make her comfortable.”
“Women have been having babies since the dawn of time, Wyatt,” Liberty stated as she leaned against the kitchen doorway. “Aimee’s a smart, capable woman. She’s done everything right. It’s going to be fine.”
“I hope you’re right,” Wyatt responded.
“Of course, I am. You’ll see. Okay boys,” Liberty said. “Think I’ll run up and see what time she wants to head into Billings.”
As soon as the door closed behind her, Wyatt’s gaze slammed into Rein’s. “What’s going on?”
Though Rein anticipated the question, he still wasn’t entirely certain how best to answer it. What had begun as a little harmless fun had escalated into something that Rein couldn’t explain. “I’m not sure what you mean,” Rein said. His futile attempt at stalling not appreciated by Wyatt.
Wyatt’s shot him an incredulous look. “Are you serious? You forget I haven’t had sex in….” He pressed his fingers to his brow. “I-I can’t even remember. You think though I don’t recognize that kind of tension when I see it?”
Rein stuffed his hands in his pockets. He couldn’t lie—he wouldn’t—not to Wyatt. “Okay, we’ve been…seeing each other.”
“Seeing each other?” Wyatt eyed him, stood and braced his hand on the mantel. “As in the biblical sense?”
Rein grimaced at the reference. “Really? Call it like it is.”
“Yeah, like you should be preaching to me. You’r
e sleeping with Liberty? You’re sleeping with my sister.”
“Half-sister, not that it makes a difference, and yes.” He paused and blew out a breath. “We mutually consented to this. She is a grown woman.”
“I don’t think I want to hear this.”
Rein shrugged. “You did ask.”
“And why didn’t you mention this to anyone?”
“For this very reason. We didn’t feel it was anybody’s business but our own. I won’t lie. I don’t think either of us knows yet what we want, but we’ve got things under control. We both know what we’re doing.”
Maybe he wanted to believe that her passion could carry over enough to keep her here. But he’d made that mistake once before and had his heart broken. He couldn’t make himself believe he could love like that ever again and even if he did discover he’d fallen for her, Liberty had made it clear that once the baby was born and the cabins were complete, she’d thought she’d go back to school and pursue a career in design.
“Under control, huh?” Wyatt folded his arms over his chest as he faced Rein. “And do you love her?”
“Does Dalton love every woman he’s ever slept with? Did you, before Aimee?” Rein tried to avoid the question.
“We’re not talking about that, we’re talking about my little sister.”
Maybe this was best to have it out in the open. Keeping a secret had become a burden and though he’d been honest with Liberty, he hadn’t been with his Wyatt and Dalton. Still, this relationship between him and Liberty—regardless of anyone else’s opinion—was still theirs and they would determine the outcome. Rein blinked as he realized where his thoughts had taken him.
When had this thing between them become a relationship? The truth hit him that he well might be falling for this girl and did she even know it? How would she take such news?
“So what you’re saying is that you’ve seen each other a few times, but it’s nothing exclusive, right? If you want to see other people, or if she does, you’re both okay with that?” Wyatt countered.
He’d been focused on Liberty long before they slept together. He’d just been denying the attraction, tossing every possible excuse in the road to try to detour his thoughts. He couldn’t speak for Liberty, of course. She was young, but wise beyond her years. He doubted that would make much difference to Wyatt. “I’m not seeing anyone else, I don’t know about Liberty. If she wants to see other men, I won’t stop her.” He kept a steady gaze on Wyatt hoping that it didn’t show that he’d just lied through his teeth.
“That’s bullshit and you know it. How do you feel about her, Rein?”
Rein released a sigh. “I care for her…a lot. But neither of us is blind to reality. She doesn’t plan to stay here, and I have no plans to leave. So, there it is.”
An awkward silence stretched between them. Wyatt’s tended to be more of a black and white kind of guy, as opposed to an it-could-go-either-way-type guy.
“Jesus Criminy, Rein. Are you serious?” He threw out a short laugh and turned away. “She’s my little sister.”
“And a grown woman,” Rein reminded him. “I’m not alone in this decision. It’s what she wanted, too.”
“What she wanted?” Wyatt dismissed him with his hand. “You’re sure about that?”
“It’s not interfering with anything. The cabins are coming along fine…better, in fact since she’s been helping me.” A weak reason, but worth tossing out there.
“Pretty damn convenient then, isn’t it, having her working alongside you?”
“It’s not like that, Wyatt.” Rein found himself defending the doubts that had niggled at the back of his brain, too dazed by his desire and her willingness to look at things realistically. “She’s very good at what she does.”
“Oh, I just bet,” he retorted in a caustic tone.
“You know what I mean. Look around. She’s done an amazing job.”
Wyatt’s face was grim. “Yep, it is amazing what a person will do when they’re strung along. You forget I grew up hoping to please someone by doing whatever she asked of me. Moving from one deadbeat hotel to another, sleeping in a car, every damn day hoping she’d wake up and reciprocate that love. Instead, she walked out of our lives, leaving us to pick up the pieces.”
“I’m not like your mom, Wyatt. I’m not stringing her—” Bile rose in his throat. He couldn’t finish the comment. “That was never my intent. I wanted her to work with me. Hell, you’re the one who suggested it. The rest, well…it just happened. I don’t know what else to say.”
“And you really think she’s not going to get hurt? When the cabins are done and there’s no more for her to do around here for you? You think she’s just going to walk away from this unscathed?”
He wanted to believe Wyatt didn’t understand, that his judgment had been affected by the poor experiences he’d had with women in his past. But his sister was nothing like those women. She was like no woman he’d ever known— fiercely independent, she was determined to make it and on her own terms. She’d not surrendered to him. They’d surrendered to each other, taking and giving what the other needed. They’d not intended for it to be exclusive; but somehow it had turned out that way. Or had it? Had he been blind to her attentiveness? A soft smile delivered across the family table at dinner, or the way she managed to sit next to him when they gathered around the fire pit at night, and listened to Michael tell his stories of the Crow tribes.
Then there were the stolen moments where they were animals in heat, unable to quench their sexual thirst.“I think you may be wrong, Wyatt. But honestly, I hadn’t thought about it.”
“Damn right you haven’t. You’ve been thinking with your dick and little else, it sounds like. Seems to me, one of you better give it some thought.”
He wanted to defend himself, wanted to justify that he and Liberty were adults and didn’t owe anyone an explanation. But if what Wyatt said was true, if Liberty had agreed to the arrangement because she hoped for, expected more…?
Somewhere, deep inside, he’d compared her to Caroline, justifying to himself that she had other plans, she didn’t care about the ranch or about him. Like him, she’d wanted to keep things simple, have a good time. But maybe he’d selfish, been blinded by his own experience, because in truth, Liberty was nothing at all like Caroline. Maybe Wyatt was right. Maybe he’d been lying to himself, convinced that she knew what she was doing, so that he wouldn’t have to think that he might be using her.
He faced Wyatt’s stern expression. “You’re right. Though it’s the Gods truth I never intended to hurt her. I made it clear I’m not interested in any long term relationship. She agreed. I believed her, or maybe I wanted to.” Rein glanced at Wyatt and realized that he needed to have a serious talk with Liberty and the sooner, the better. He had no idea of the repercussions, but like it or not, he’d have to end things now, before the situation got out of hand. “I’ll take care of it, Wyatt.”
“Unless you plan to make an honest woman of her, I suggest you do so, before she gets hurt.”
Rein watched his brother leave. He cared for her, he did. But they’d known from the beginning eventually they’d part ways. After his talk with Wyatt, he had a sick feeling that maybe he might already too late.
***
Rein had managed to keep himself scarce since Wyatt surprised them the day before. He hadn’t shown up for dinner, nor had he knocked on her patio door as had become the custom. It had shaken them both, but perhaps Rein, more so. If he’d confided to his brother about the fact they were seeing each other, Wyatt may have made him realize that despite his claims of mutual consent, the fact that they’d not seen anyone since their affair started might have scared Rein.
Maybe it was better this way. She needed to take a break from him. Working together on a daily basis, sharing his ideas, listening to him talk about the future of this project after they’d made love had caused her to carve out a niche in her heart solely for him. It had been a dangerous thing to realize and then ac
cept, but she’d convinced herself she’d had to let go of relationships before and though, for a time, there’d be heartache, this would be no different.
There’d been a time or two that she’d wanted to spill her guts and tell him that she thought she might be falling for him, but the thought of his reaction should she renege on their agreement was enough to keep her thoughts to herself. Instead, she found ways to show him how much she cared and respected him. Not only in small ways, but in the how she trusted him in bed, allowing their fantasies to unfold without restraint.
God, she thought. He was an amazing lover, exciting and experimental, yet thoughtful of her pleasure as much as his own. It was no great surprise then, when she realized she’d fallen hard for him.
“What do you think of this?” Aimee held up a light blue one-piece romper.
Liberty blinked from her reverie, the image of Rein in her bed vanishing in a quick poof. She focused on the umpteenth romper they’d looked at today. It had a sheriff’s badge sewn to the breast and fabric printed boots for the feet. Starting in when the stores opened, they’d been to three different baby boutiques in Billings, averaging over an hour in each. Liberty’s stomach growled plaintively. She shifted the bags in her arms and smiled. The woman had bought at least one of everything that had tickled her fancy. At this rate, the kid would grow out of them faster than he’d be able to wear them.
“It’s adorable, like everything else you’ve bought today.” Liberty held up the bags. “You do realize if you continue to buy everything, there will be nothing left for the shower Betty wants to give you after the baby’s born.”
Aimee shot her a pained grin. “I know, but I can’t help it. I keep seeing him in all these cute little clothes.”
Liberty sighed. “Yeah, fair enough. You make your decision, I’m going to go drop these in the truck and feed the meter. After that, we’re going to get you off your feet for a bit and have some lunch. Wyatt will have my head if you come home with swollen ankles.”
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