by Becca Van
She had long, black hair which was pulled back behind her head in what looked like a thick braid, and her eyes were a stunning jade colour. Cal glanced at Ash when he heard his brother draw in a deep breath and saw that the muscle in his jaw was flexing and his hands were clenched into fists. He shifted his gaze to Heath when he moved from one foot to the other and noticed that he was staring at the gorgeous young woman, too.
“Damn. She is hot,” Finch whispered and Cal saw that his brother was perusing the woman’s body up and down.
“Hi guys,” Tiff said as she halted at the bottom of the steps.
Cal walked down the steps, lifted Tiff from her feet and spun her around. “Hey there, sweetheart. You’re looking mighty fine today.”
“Get your hands off my wife,” Matt said in a mock-growl.
Cal gently lowered Tiffany back to her feet and frowned when he saw the black-haired, beautiful woman slowly backing away. That was the moment he noticed the mottled bruises on her face and an anger he’d never felt before washed over him, consuming him and making his blood pump fast through his veins. His muscles hardened with rage, but he tried to keep his expression stoic so he wouldn’t frighten the woman more than she already was. He glanced at Matt, hoping he would pick up on his tension and put her at ease.
“Oh, Matt, you know Cal is just playing.” Tiff slapped Matt’s stomach.
“Of course I do, Chicken Little,” Matt replied, and Cal was pleased to see the woman begin to relax.
“Guys, this is Jewel Ellesworth,” Tiff introduced. “Jewel, these guys are your new bosses. This is Ash, Callum, Heath and Finch Handley.”
“Hi, Jewel.” Cal stepped forward with his hand out.
“Hi. Pleased to meet you, Cal.” Cal was surprised by the firm handshake she gave him before quickly dropping her hand. He watched as she shook hands with the rest of his brothers, shaking Ash’s last.
“Do you have any crop harvesting experience, Jewel?” Ash asked.
“No, but I have plenty dealing with and looking after cattle and horses.”
“Why don’t we go on into the house?” Finch suggested. “We’ll talk things over and then get our day started.”
“Sorry, guys, but we have to get going,” Tiff said. “I have a shitload of work on today. Todd, honey, can you get Jewel’s bags out?”
“I can get them.” Jewel headed back toward the truck.
“Allow me,” Heath said as he hurried over to the ute.
“I can…”
“I’m sure you’re more than capable, love, but why bother when I can do it for you?”
Cal nearly laughed when he saw Jewel stop in her tracks and then frown after his brother. Obviously, she wasn’t used to anyone doing things for her. If he had his way, he would do anything and everything he could to make her life easier, but he had a feeling he would need to tread very carefully. He could see the reservation and wariness in her eyes, and if the bruises on her face were anything to go by, someone had hurt this beautiful woman badly.
She shifted onto the balls of her feet and sidestepped away from Heath when his brother turned from the ute and headed for the house. Cal decided it was time to get their new employee settled so she could get to work. He had a feeling she would be more comfortable if she was busy.
“We need to get a move on,” Tiff said and then turned to give Jewel a hug.
At first Cal didn’t think Jewel knew what to do. She stood stiff as a board with a look of surprise on her face, but then she blinked and slowly lifted her arms to wrap around Tiffany, and then she patted her awkwardly with one hand while holding her with the other.
“Thank you for everything,” Jewel said. “If you hadn’t come along…”
Cal frowned and wondered what that was about. He decided to walk Tiff, Todd and Matt to their vehicle to find out.
“It was our pleasure. I just wish we’d gotten there a little sooner,” Tiff said as she drew back. “Now we only live next door. If at any time you need someone to talk to or you just want to drop in for a visit and a cup of coffee, please don’t hesitate. Okay?”
Jewel nodded as she dropped her arms back to her sides. “Thank you, again.”
“And don’t worry about your van. I’ll have it up and running in no time.”
Jewel nodded again.
“Ash, why don’t you take Jewel inside and show her around? Let her get settled and then we can talk in the kitchen,” Cal said as he followed the Murrays.
He glanced back over his shoulder and waited for his brothers and Jewel to go inside. When they had disappeared from view, he turned back and met Tiffany’s gaze. “What was that all about?”
“What?” Tiff asked.
Todd must have realised what he meant because he moved closer and began talking in a low voice. “We found Jewel broken down on the side of the road just outside of Passion. Four men were accosting her and she ended up on her arse in the middle of the road.”
“Fuck! Did you see who it was? Did you call the police?”
Todd held up his hand before he could ask any more questions. “No. We were too far away to see who, and we didn’t get the number plate, either. Those bastards took off when they heard us coming and sped away. If we’d had another vehicle, we would have given chase, but we stopped to make sure she was all right.”
“Damn. Did they hurt her?”
“She said she was okay,” Tiff chimed in. “But she was shaking like a leaf and moving stiffly like she was really sore.”
“Yeah, I noticed that, too.” Cal sighed. “Did you see those fucking bruises on her face? What kind of hell has she been through?”
“Yeah, we saw them,” Matt said. “But since we only met late yesterday afternoon and she’s pretty closed up, we didn’t feel like we could ask.”
Tiffany placed a hand on his arm. “I don’t know what her story is, but I could tell by the way all of you were looking at her that there’s an…attraction. You need to be very careful with her, Cal. I don’t think she likes people very much, and there is so much pain and sadness in her eyes. Just don’t go charging in and scaring her away.”
Cal swallowed and nodded his head. “You could see how we were attracted to her?” He hadn’t thought he and his brothers had been that obvious. Usually they were pretty hard to read, except to each other.
“Yes.” Tiff sighed. “Just give her time to get used to you. Okay?”
“Will do. And thanks for recommending her.”
“No problem,” Todd replied. “Take care. We’ll see you soon.”
“That you will,” Cal said.
He would have to invite them over frequently. Hopefully, by doing so and having Tiffany around, Jewel would relax and begin to open up.
But he wasn’t going to hold his breath.
* * * *
As Jewel followed Ash, Heath and Finch inside, she made sure to keep plenty of space between them. She looked about as they walked and took in the huge, comfortable living room, with chunky leather furniture and massive flat-screen TV on the wall. The house looked like it was brand-new, but she had a feeling only some of it was. Maybe they had extended and renovated it recently. They showed her the big kitchen and she was surprised to see that the cupboards were a deep purple colour. The granite bench top was an off-white with flecks of beige in it and the appliances were all stainless steel. It sounded disgusting, but it was really very nice. The contrast of colours looked fantastic with the dark, polished floorboards. Across the room in the dining section was a timber table big enough to seat twelve people.
“What do you think?” Ash asked from beside her.
She jumped and stumbled as his nearness and voice startled her. She’d been so intent on looking that she hadn’t noticed how close he’d moved. She sidled to the side and gasped when she came up against a hard body, and quickly skirted around and back from them. When she realised they were both frowning at her, she stopped and crossed her arms beneath her breasts. She hated that she was so defensive around others and that her pers
onal space was much bigger than the average person, but she couldn’t do anything about it.
“It looks amazing. I never would have thought to use purple for kitchen cupboards, but it looks incredible.”
“We think so,” Finch said and shrugged. “Are you ready to see your room?”
“Yeah.”
Finch turned on his heel and Jewel waited for Ash to follow, but he swept his hand out and said, “After you, Jewel.”
She took a deep breath and hurried after Finch. The hair on her nape prickled and she felt her muscles tense. Everywhere Ash’s eyes touched on her body, her skin tingled. Jewel hunched her shoulders and hoped he couldn’t see the goose bumps forming on her skin. She wanted to rub them away but didn’t want to draw attention to the fact she was reacting to him. And it wasn’t just him. The moment she’d seen all four big men, her body had started to heat. Jewel had never responded that way to anyone before, but she made sure that they didn’t notice. At lease she hoped she had.
What worried her was the way her nipples were poking against her bra and how hot and moist her pussy felt. There had been only one time in her life that she’d let a man get close to her, and she cringed every time she thought about it.
She’d met Dominic Mavis after beginning her new life ten months after she’d left that orphanage and wasn’t even nineteen yet. They had both been working on a farm in rural New South Wales, and she thought he’d been attractive, and he had been. Dom had been working with her to drive a small herd of cattle to another paddock and after the job was done they’d stopped to water the horses in a small stream. He asked her if he could kiss her and she had consented. The kiss had been nice, but only slightly arousing. However, when he’d cupped her breast she’d freaked out. No one had ever touched her there before, and since it was her first kiss, she hadn’t expected him to do that. Jewel had pushed him away, jumped on her horse and galloped off.
She’d felt awkward around him from then on, even though neither of them had ever mentioned the incident. Jewel had been so uncomfortable she had moved on the next week. She felt bad for her reaction, but she couldn’t change what happened and hoped he found someone else.
“Are you okay, Jewel?” She glanced over at Heath and realised she was standing in the doorway to a bedroom, staring into space. He was looking at her with a frown on his face. When she glanced over at Finch, who was standing at an open doorway on the other side of the room and looking at her with concern, she lowered her eyes to the floor and drew in a deep breath.
“Yeah, sorry. I guess I spaced out for a bit.”
“Don’t worry about it, honey,” Ash said from behind her. “I’m sure all this will take time to get used to.”
Jewel nodded.
“So, how do you like the room?” Cal asked.
She hadn’t even noticed when he’d come to stand in the hallway, either. She was going to have to keep her thoughts away and concentrate on the here-and-now if she didn’t want to look like an idiot.
“It’s really nice. But…”
“But what, baby?” Finch asked.
Jewel stared at Finch for a moment. Why is he calling me that? Does he call all women “baby”? Probably. Don’t go reading anything into it, Jewel, otherwise you’re going to look like an idiot.
“Don’t you have a bunkhouse or something?”
“No,” Ash said. “We have the stables and the milking shed, but that’s it. We don’t expect to hire anyone else. We’ve only been up and running for a smidgen less than twelve months, and with four of us, it’s not necessary to hire more than one extra pair of hands.”
“Oh. Okay.”
“You have your own bathroom.” Heath indicated to the open doorway across the room. “So you don’t have to worry about sharing with us.”
Jewel nodded and sighed with relief. That was the last thing she wanted to do.
Thank God their spare room has its own en-suite.
“Why don’t we leave you to put your things away?” Cal suggested. “We can have a cup of coffee to discuss your chores when you’re done.”
“Sounds good. Thanks.” Jewel moved away from the door and as Finch and Heath moved toward the exit, she made sure to keep plenty of space between them and sighed when she was once more alone.
It didn’t take her long to put her things in the dresser and wardrobe, and although she wanted to linger, she wanted to get to work more. She didn’t know if working for these men was a good idea, but until Benjy was up and running again, she didn’t have much choice. But what bothered her the most was she the reason she was unsure. She didn’t like the way they made her feel, the way her body was sitting up and taking notice. She wasn’t sure she was going to be able to hide her reactions from them, because she had a feeling they were very astute, observant men. However, she was determined to treat them like she had everyone else she’d met in her travels. Keeping them at a distance became more and more imperative.
Those four men were all tall, muscular and handsome, and even though she’d worked alongside similar men for the last eight years, she’d never encountered these responses in her body before.
Ever. And she didn’t like it. Not one little bit.
Chapter Three
Reilly had been in prison for two weeks and made sure he did everything he was supposed to. He worked hard at his chores, and when he’d was visited by the psychologist three times a week, he’d shown complete and utter remorse for what he’d done to Jewel. It didn’t matter that he was seething inside and planning on revenge.
He was determined to get out and find that little slut. She’d deserved everything he’d done to her and more. If it hadn’t been for those arsehole bosses coming into the stables, Jewel would have been his. The little cunt had been teasing him for months, twitching her arse as she walked and smiling at him with that “come and get me” smile. How was a man supposed to resist that temptation?
Kenny had visited him once and told him the bitch had taken off. But it didn’t matter, because he wouldn’t rest until he found the cunt. She was his, and he wasn’t about to let her get away from him. He rolled over until he was facing the wall and rubbed his cock through his pants as he imagined her on her knees in front of him, his hand gripping her hair tightly while he forced her up down his cock until he had her gagging.
His breathing increased and he whipped his dick from his pants as he stroked up and down fast and hard. He imagined her tied down and shoving into her hard and deep. Before he knew it, he was spilling his seed onto the wall. It didn’t matter how long it took him to find her. He wasn’t giving up until he had her right where he wanted her. It shouldn’t be too hard seeking her out with today’s technology. Especially with the contacts he’d made over the years in the farming community and the distinct Kombi-van she drove. Once he was out, he would make a few phone calls, and if that didn’t give him any joy, he would track her through her number plate.
He shoved his cock back into his pants, rolled from his bunk and grabbed some tissues to wipe the wall clean.
Jewel Ellesworth was going to be his, and he wouldn’t let anyone stand in his way.
* * * *
Heath kept a close eye on Jewel from the corner of his eye as he and his brothers explained what her duties would be, but he took every opportunity to look at her directly when she spoke.
She was a stunning woman and, although petite, curvy in all the right places. He noticed the defined muscles in her upper arms each time she lifted the mug of coffee to her mouth and then lowered it again to wrap both her hands around the cup. With each word he or his brothers spoke, she seemed to relax a little more, and once he even caught a smile hovering around her lips.
“So, let me reiterate. You want me to help bring the cattle from the west pasture to the southern one, and after that, exercise the horses in the stables and then clean the stalls?”
“Yep,” Ash answered. “Do you think you’ll have enough daylight hours to get all that done? Not that you’ll be exercisin
g the horses by yourself. Finch will help you with that.”
“How many horses need to be taken out?”
“Three,” Finch said. “We change halfway through the day to exercise as many as we can.”
“Are you kidding?” Jewel asked.
Heath wondered what she meant, and although he wanted to ask, he kept his mouth shut, hoping she’d continue on.
“You do realise that I’ve been working on a cattle station, don’t you?”
“Yeah. So?” Cal raised his eyebrow.
“I can do all of that and still have a couple of hours spare,” Jewel said. “What do you want me to do for the rest of the day? And which horse do you want me riding?”
“Damn. You must work fast,” Heath said.
“Well, I suppose so, but when I do something, I do it properly. No half measures for this little black duck.”
Heath glanced at his older brothers and saw they both looked a little poleaxed by what she’d said. He had no doubt it was also because she was so fucking sexy and beautiful. She sounded so confident, her shoulders were no longer hunched and there was a twinkle in her eye and an inner glow that made her look radiant. He bit his cheek to hold back a smile but knew he hadn’t succeeded in hiding his humour when Finch smirked at him.
“We’d be happy if you finish the list we’ve given you,” Ash said. “Cal and I will be working on the corral and fences near the stables. Just come get one of us after you’re done.”
“Okay.” Jewel got to her feet, took her mug over to the sink, rinsed it and put it in the dishwasher. “Is there anything else you needed to tell me?”
“Not right now,” Ash said, and he, too, got to his feet.
“Great. I’ll get started on moving the cattle right away, and then I’ll exercise the horses, but you need to let me know which ones I can ride so I don’t take any of yours.”
“I’ll show you,” Heath said as he stood up.
“Just one thing, Jewel,” Cal called and she paused in the doorway, looking back over her shoulder at Cal.
