by Zoey Marcel
Winchester, Arizona
Sin Wore a Stetson
Jade Flowers wakes up naked in the desert next to a dead man with no memory of her past. She accepts a ride from Kellan Brooks, a hunky cowboy from Winchester, Arizona. He takes her to the ranch he owns with his older brothers, Stetson and Sawyer, and their friend, Doc. Jade is alarmed that their scents call to her and threaten to unleash something savage from within her.
Kellan Brooks is smitten with the tattooed woman and decides to change her mind about leaving the ranch so he can keep her with him.
A werewolf and ex-soldier shows up on their doorstep claiming to be Jade’s fiancé and mate. He is appalled that she can’t remember him and has taken refuge with the four cowboys. They embark on a journey to get answers about Jade’s past, but a psychotic killer is still hunting her, intending to finish what he started.
Note: There is no sexual relationship or touching for titillation between or among siblings.
Note: This is Book 1 of the Winchester, Arizona series. These books are not stand-alone. Each is a continuation of the previous book and must be read in the numbered order.
Genre: Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Shape-shifter, Western/Cowboys
Length: 47,788 words
SIN WORE A STETSON
Winchester, Arizona
Zoey Marcel
MENAGE AND MORE
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Ménage and More
SIN WORE A STETSON
Copyright © 2012 by Zoey Marcel
E-book ISBN: 978-1-62241-708-7
First E-book Publication: November 2012
Cover design by Harris Channing
All cover art and logo copyright © 2012 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
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www.SirenPublishing.com
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SIN WORE A STETSON
Winchester, Arizona
ZOEY MARCEL
Copyright © 2012
Chapter One
Naked—she was cold and naked. The hard earth pressed against her battered face and the arid, gritty scent of dust filled her nostrils. The rising sun bathed her in its comforting light, but the fiery orb gave off no heat this morning. The air felt cold and hostile as it punished her nude form with its unforgiving temperature.
Who was she? Where was she? Splitting pain pounded in her head as she sat up. Her face felt like it had been hit, and she had scratches and dirt streaks in several places on her body. She gasped when she saw the naked man lying face down and motionless a mere three feet away.
What happened? She scoured her thoughts for the answer, but her mind drew a blank. She had blood on her hands. Why? He had blood on him and seemed to be dead. Did she kill him? Was she a murderer?
She treaded cautiously on the cold, solid ground. The cracks in the earth pricked at the soles of her bare feet, which was hardly pleasant.
Her groin felt sore, and she got a cold feeling in the pit of her stomach when the thought occurred to her what the stranger might have done to her. She palpated her pussy and discovered dried semen on it. Had the man raped her just before she killed him?
She saw a pile of women’s clothes and assumed they were hers. After dressing in the tight, gray T-shirt and jeans and getting her sneakers on, she found a wallet in the pocket of her pants.
The driver’s license said Jade Flowers on it. Apparently she was twenty-six. The woman in the picture had short black hair with purple highlights in it. Her hand went to her short hair. When it flopped into her face she saw that it was black. Did she still have those freaking awesome highlights?
Jade rummaged through the man’s pile of clothes and flipped through his wallet. His driver’s license said Bane Kennedy. He was twenty-eight. The man in the picture made her stomach clench. He looked like a teenage heartthrob.
She’d killed him. But had he attacked her first? Jade hoped so. She couldn’t be a murderer. That label felt wrong to her, but without her memory intact, how was she to know her true character or lack of it?
Someone would find the body eventually. She needed to get out of there. Where should she go without any recollection of her past? The address on her driver’s license perhaps. If she went home she might be able to get some answers.
Her hands trembled and her knees shook. Her mind was still numb with shock. She didn’t know what to do, but she knew she needed to get out of there fast.
Jade walked quickly through the desert, rubbing her arms to fend off the shivers of the chilly morning air. Knowing she’d killed that man and being unable to recall the events that led up to it left her feeling sick and unsettled. She needed answers, but she couldn’t tell anyone about this. What if she’d really just killed him? It didn’t seem likely, but she had no desire to go to prison for it.
Jade saw a car parked by the side of the road and tried the handle. It was locked, and she didn’t have any keys in her pocket. Perhaps it wasn’t her car. Was it the dead man’s? Had he grabbed her and forced her into his car before driving her out into the desert to execute his ill wi
ll?
She stuck her thumb out and stood by the side of the road. The sun cast a blinding glare in her eyes when a truck came within view. She couldn’t tell whether the driver was male or female, but she desperately hoped it was the latter.
The truck slowed to a stop, and the driver rolled down the window. “Are you all right?”
Damn it, he was male. She nodded, trying to look tougher than she felt. “Yeah, could you give me a ride?”
“Sure. Hop in.”
She climbed up into his big, dark-blue Ford pickup truck on the passenger’s side, and he started to drive again.
His pale-blue eyes widened when he looked at her. “Holy shit, what happened to your face?”
Jade flipped the visor down and peeked at herself in the mirror. She had a black eye, a split lip with dried blood on it, and dirt streaks on her cheeks. On the plus side, her black, A-line haircut still had those rad plum-purple highlights in it. She had an oval-shaped face, and her eyes were a nice shade of blue.
“Well, what do you know about that?” She touched her black eye as if needing proof that it really hurt.
Ow! Yep, it hurts, you idiot. Well done.
“What happened?” the cute man asked.
She didn’t even know. Amnesia sounded too far-fetched, and it was something he’d remember. If she made up a story, hopefully he’d forget all about the random stranger he picked up on the side of the road if the cops ever interrogated him about the body they found. For all she knew she was a cold-blooded killer rather than a victim, but Jade didn’t think so.
“I was partying in the woods with some friends,” she lied. “We were horsing around while we were hammered. We thought it would be fun to take turns running the gauntlet and see who could take the bigger beating.”
He looked at her either like she was crazy or he was skeptical of her story. “Did you win?”
She flashed a fake grin. “I honestly don’t remember. One too many drinks.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.” Her voice sounded shaky and unconvincing, like a poorly built bridge being put to the test by a ravaging earthquake.
“Was that a lie?” he asked knowingly.
She sighed and nodded.
“If you don’t want to tell me what happened to you, that’s fine. My name is Kellan, by the way. Kellan Brooks.” He extended his hand to her while he drove.
Jade took it, surprised by the tender stirring she felt holding his big, warm hand. She studied his masculine features, pleased by what she saw. He had an attractive ladies’ man face with a slanted nose and baby-blue eyes. His light-brown hair was thick and wavy, but it looked dark blond in the morning sunlight. He had stubble on his face, and his toothy grin made her stomach flip-flop. The woodsy citrus scent of his cologne made her crazy.
But it was more than that. The scent of his skin, his blood, and his soul all called to her. The scent of his soul? Perhaps she was a lunatic who had escaped an asylum?
“I’m Jade,” she replied, grimacing that she gave him her real name. What if the police found that body she left in the desert and started interrogating the locals?
Kellan grinned, and she nearly swooned at the sight. His arms were nice and muscular, and she could tell even through his flannel shirt that he had a solid, manly structure beneath his Western attire. “Jade, I like that. You’re beautiful and radiant like a jewel.”
Ah, the clever line of a player. “Thanks, but I’m not going to have sex with you.”
Oh God, had she really just said that?
He smirked. “I wasn’t asking you to.”
His smile made her pussy moisten. From what she gathered he seemed like a laid-back, easygoing kind of guy and possibly a flirtatious player. At least he was kind enough to give her a ride rather than take advantage of her like that Bane Kennedy man she’d left for dead back there. She probably should have checked him for vital signs, but she’d been in shock and far too shaken up over waking up like that to even think of it.
“So where am I driving you to, Jade?” Kellan asked.
Her eyes shimmied down his long, denim-clad legs to the cowboy boots that rested on the floor of the truck, one of which deftly worked the gas pedal. Odd that she looked like a punk-rocker chick and was so drawn to this cowboy. All he needed was a Stetson to complete his Western look.
Her pulse skittered with excitement when she saw the slight bulge in the crotch of his jeans. He wanted her. Even before she saw the evidence of such yearning, she could smell his desire. How the hell was that possible? Maybe she was high.
“Like what you see?” His sexy lips pulled back into a flattered grin.
Jade blushed, wishing she hadn’t been so obvious with her attraction to him. “I do. God did a good job making you.”
He laughed. “Well, he did a pretty damned good job making you, too, cutie.”
“Thanks.” She liked Kellan Brooks.
“So where am I taking you?”
She pulled out her driver’s license and read the address. “I need to go to Riverside.”
He seemed surprised by this. “You know that’s in California, right?”
“So?”
“So we’re in Nevada.”
Her mind raced. Why was she in Nevada? “Is that out of your way?”
He snickered. “Yeah, quite a bit. My brothers won’t believe me if I tell them I took a detour to help a damsel in distress. They’ll just assume I wanted to spend an extra couple of days in Vegas.”
Jade thought about this for a minute. Had she been headed for Las Vegas when she got attacked? It was a ridiculous conclusion to just assume that the only reason she’d wound up in Nevada was to hang out in Sin City. There were other cities, and she may have simply been passing through the state.
“Well, you could just dump me off by the side of the road.”
Kellan rolled his eyes. “I’m not a complete asshole. I’ve got some shit I’ve got to take care of ASAP, but once that’s done I’d be happy to drive you there.”
“That’s fine. Take care of your shit first. I appreciate it.”
The air was saturated with the narcotic scent of this attractive man. What was it about him? His good looks and the heady fragrance of him awakened something primal and instinctual from deep within her. She wanted to take him into her body and ride him—not exactly normal behavior for a supposedly very recent rape victim.
“So what were you doing so far from home?” he asked.
Jade hesitated and finally sighed. She needed to tell someone to somehow make sense of all this. “Oh, what the hell. I have amnesia.”
Kellan smirked before his expression became serious and intrigued. “Seriously?”
“Yeah, I can’t remember anything.”
“What’s two plus two?”
She rolled her eyes. “For heaven’s sake, Kelly—”
“Kellan.”
“Kellan, I can remember basic math. I just can’t recall who I am or what I was doing in Nevada.”
He raised an incredulous eyebrow. “Really?”
“Really. It’s driving me crazy.”
“I bet. Did you hit your head? Judging by your face it looks like you got beat up real good by some no-good motherfucker.” His eyes narrowed, and his knuckles became white against the steering wheel like the mere thought of her being abused made him furious.
His concern touched her. That was sweet of him to worry about her safety even though they didn’t know each other. “Maybe, or maybe I just fell.”
“I don’t think so. That looks like abuse to me. That’s probably what you were doing so far from home. You were trying to escape the piece of shit who abused you,” Kellan concluded, face still shadowed with anger over her plight. “A boyfriend, maybe.”
“How do you know it wasn’t my husband?”
He almost acted jealous when she said that. “No ring.”
She shrugged. “I could have taken it off.”
“No, you’re not married,” he insisted in a
firm tone.
Jade smiled. The cute stud liked her. Good. She liked him, too.
Her eyes closed and she inhaled deeply. His scent drove her wild. She wanted to straddle him and bang his brains out. Her thoughts were shameful. Was she a slut? She didn’t think so, but the true answer to that was still up in the air.
She recalled the shocking reflection of her injuries that she’d just seen in the mirror. Bane Kennedy must have beaten the shit out of her when she tried to get away last night. Violent bastard. Death served him right.
“Why do you smell so good?” Jade asked.
Kellan smiled. “It’s called deodorant. That and I shower regularly. Glad you approve.”
“That stuff smells good on you, but it’s not what I smell.”
“It might be my cologne.” He stiffened, seeming like he stifled a happy groan when she drew near his hair and sniffed.
“Your cologne smells wonderful, but I think it’s your natural essence I smell. You smell like you need to be fucked.” Oh good lord, where had that come from?
His brows popped up in surprise before he grinned. “Yes, ma’am.”
His offer was tempting, and she wondered if he was serious. What was wrong with her? Certainly he was damned good looking and quite hot, but did she really have no self-control with a foxy stranger? She must be some kind of slut, either that or seriously repressed.
Kellan shook his head, seeming reluctant to speak. “You really shouldn’t tempt me like that. You’ve obviously been through some kind of traumatic hell. I’m a player. I never can resist a beautiful woman. Well, I can if I’m in a relationship, which isn’t very often.”
