by Jenika Snow
Scrubbing a hand over his face, he breathed out, trying to push the lush image of Pearl out of his mind. She was probably passing through Granite anyway, only here for Shirley’s affairs, so he’d never have to be tempted with her curvy as fuck body, and a face that could bring a man to his damn knees.
****
Pearl stepped out of the café where she’d just had an informal interview, and breathed out an exasperated sigh. They wanted someone, but even for a rinky-dink little restaurant apparently she wasn’t what they were looking for. Of course she had no waitressing experience, so that probably had a lot to do with not getting a job offer. But Pearl didn’t want to serve people anyway.
When she’d been in the city and doing advertising as a junior copyright editor, she’d felt as though she were on a team. She’d made a name for herself within the company, loved what she did to a certain extent, but there was also a part of her that hated her job. Having to please people wasn’t really something she excelled at, even if she was getting paid for it. What Pearl liked about advertising was helping come up with pieces that would attract potential buyers, snag their attention, and make them want to seek out more about the product.
But Granite, or any city nearby, had no openings for her in that profession, and even after she got laid off and tried finding something in the city before she moved into her grandmother’s place she hadn’t found anything. So here she was, searching out any kind of employment now because she had no intentions of leaving Granite.
She got into her car and started the engine, but for a few moments just sat there watching the life of Granite pass by. There were a lot of older residents in the town, but this was a farming town that relied on that production to support them. She looked down at the paper on her passenger side seat, saw the red circled ad for the personal cook/cleaner, and knew that this was so not what she wanted. But maybe the pay and schedule would be a dream, and then she could focus on looking outside of Granite for something that fit her degree? She could always commute, even if the nearest big city was over an hour away.
Grabbing the steering wheel and clenching her hands on the leather, she rested her head on the back of the seat and closed her eyes. She didn’t move, didn’t even breathe for that matter, just thinking about where her life was now as opposed to last year when she thought she had everything going for her. She now had nothing, no family, no job, and was just trying to make it through each day as she dealt with her emotions.
She was supposed to be at Sterling Farms in an hour, and after she’d put the address in her GPS on her cell, she saw it was half an hour away. Being early was good, right? Either way, she’d either get the job, or not. If not then she’d just worry about the next day, then the next, and so on. That was all she could do.
Chapter Eight
Pearl pulled into the long dirt driveway, looked at the wooden and steel welded sign above her that read “Sterling Farms”, and slowed. The farmhouse down the road was big and rustic looking as well with a log cabin feel to it. She saw a large red barn in the distance off to the side of the house, and behind the house she saw two smaller homes.
She increased her speed and went closer to the house. Once she was in front of it she stopped beside of a rusty looking pick-up. The man she’d spoken to about the job had sounded young. He’d said they needed help cooking and cleaning since they were tending to the land and animals a lot of the time. Apparently three brothers lived on this property. She didn’t know much about the ranch or the Sterling brothers, and hadn’t really bothered or had time to ask around about them. She was not sure who she’d ask anyway.
She cut the engine and leaned forward to stare up at the log cabin style farmhouse. There were lacy looking curtains hanging in the living room picture window. Okay, so maybe there was a woman living in the house? But if that was the case why would they need a housekeeper and cook? Maybe the woman was ill, pregnant? There were a lot of things that crossed her mind, but none of that mattered because she was here for a job, and that was all she needed to worry about.
She grabbed her purse and the resume she’d printed out at the library earlier in the day, climbed out of the car and headed up the porch steps. There was a wind chime hanging from the wraparound porch overhang, and the wind blew by, kicking the little metal tubes together and causing a melodic song to play. Pearl stared at the rusted chimes, and lifted her gaze to the butterfly made out of wire atop the piece. The crystals that weren’t missing on the butterfly’s wings shone when the light caught them.
“You must be Pearl?” The deep voice came from the doorway, and she turned her head and stared through the screen. She couldn’t see very well through the dark screen, but when the door opened she saw a stunningly handsome man standing in the doorway, the same one she’d seen at the bar when she met Travis. Her heart started pounding fast, hard. He came out of the house, took a step toward her, and she felt her throat close and her mouth go dry.
Oh my fucking lord.
No, she was not standing in front of this man, one of the men she’d seen at the bar with Travis the previous night, and who she just knew was related to Travis someway because they looked so similar.
“Pearl, right?” The man asked again and took another step toward her. His blue eyes and dark hair were exactly the same shade as Travis’s, and even the masculine, square jaw, shape of his nose, and the way his hair lay on his head was almost identical. Of course this guy looked younger, and the way he smiled at her was different, too.
“Yes, I’m Pearl. Are you Jace?” she asked, remembering the man’s name she’d spoken with on the phone.
He grinned, a dimple flashing on his cheek. “Nah, I’m Colton, one of the Sterling brothers.”
She swallowed. “One of the Sterling brothers?”
He looked at her a little funny, but she felt awkward right now, and he probably could sense that. “Yeah, there are three of us you’d be cleaning after, which I apologize for ahead of time. It can get messy, especially if we’ve been out in the fields all day and tending to the animals.” He ran a hand over his worn jeans.
He spoke like she’d already got and accepted the position. “Um.” She looked around, not knowing how to react right now. She expected to see Travis walking out of the house any minute now, and how awkward would that be, seeing a man that she’d had a one-night stand with and who had snuck out in the middle of the night. Of course she couldn’t blame him, because she would have hauled ass out of there, too, if it had been the other way around. She’d never had a one-night stand before, but she wouldn’t have wanted to deal with the awkwardness after the fact.
Colton lifted an eyebrow as he watched her, probably thinking she was a fool because she couldn’t even form a coherent sentence. The front door opened again, and the other Sterling brother, who she assumed to be Jace, stepped out. He wore a plaid button down shirt, a white t-shirt clearly seen underneath, and a pair of worn jeans encasing his muscular thighs. His cowboy boots, just like Colton’s, were worn and faded brown, showing the hard work they clearly did.
“You must be the woman I spoke with on the phone, the one that is here for the job?” he asked, his voice deep, slightly raspy. Both men were tall, muscular, with an air of masculinity coming from them.
She swallowed and nodded. “I am.” She looked between the two men.
“I see you’ve met my brother, Colton,” Jace said, and glanced at the other man. “Well, how about we take this inside?” Jace held the door open for her. She smiled and lowered her head as she moved into the house. The smell of cologne filled her head as soon as she stepped inside, as well as the scent of old burning wood, grease, and a hint of what she thought may have been grilled steak. It was the weirdest combination.
When she looked at the living room that was to her right, she saw the horror of the clothes over the couch and chairs, newspaper lining the coffee table, beer cans tipped over, fortunately empty, but in a basket by the side of one of the chairs. There were family pictures hanging
on the walls, but they were too far away for her to make them out clearly.
“Wow,” she said under her breath. There was a worn, rustic pine looking staircase in front of her, a deer antler chandelier that hung above her, although “chandelier” might have made it sound more elegant than it was. This whole place was very woodsy and masculine, but then again the house sat in the center of acres upon acres of rural land and woods.
The kitchen was to her left, and she held back her horror at seeing the sink full of dishes crusted with food, the trashcan by the counter that was overflowing with trash, and the counters that looked like they may be gorgeous white marble under all that grime.
“Pretty, ain’t it?” Jace said from behind her, and she turned around and tried to keep her expression neutral.
“Um.” She looked at the living room again, then back at the kitchen. “It’s a bit…”
“Yeah, we know. This is Travis’s place. We live in the houses behind this one, but most of the time we eat and hang out here.”
Her heart sped up at the sound of Travis’s name, cementing what she already knew: she was in the house of the man she’d slept with last night, the one she thought she’d never see again. “Travis’s place?” she said softly, looked at the two brothers, and before she could say anything else or they could respond, the hair on the back of her neck stood on end.
“Yeah, my place.”
She felt shivers race up her spine, felt that warmth from hearing his deep, husky voice move along her body and nearly have her moaning out loud. God, she was hot, so hot, and the sweat that started to bead between her breasts had her feeling uncomfortable and needy. Pearl turned around slowly, saw Travis leaning against the wall, a dirty red rag in his hand as he cleaned off grease from his fingers and palms, and she swallowed roughly. He stared at her, his blue eyes piercing, his expression stern and also intense.
“Um,” Jace said from behind her, and she knew they had to feel the pressure in the room. Hell, she felt like she was suffocating from the intensity and heat that surrounded her.
Travis pushed his way off of the wall, walked toward her, and when they stood a few feet from each other she inhaled. She couldn’t help it. The scent of him invaded her. It was the aroma of sweat, clean and masculine, which had her insides clenching almost painfully. He stared at her, looked at her with those light blue eyes of his, the corners slightly crinkling as his smile grew. But the smile wasn’t one of amusement, but of satisfaction.
“Travis, this is Pearl, the woman that I told—”
“I know who she is,” Travis said, his gaze still on hers, the sardonic smile in place. She felt her face heat at his words, because yeah, he knew her really well.
“Okay.” Jace said the word in a long, slow, and slightly awkward way.
“Well, I was going to give her a tour,” Colton started to say.
“I can show her around,” Travis said, then slowly lifted his gaze to look at his brothers. “If that’s good with you two?” He lifted a dark eyebrow. “You can tag along,” he said almost as an afterthought, and looked down at her again. “That is if Miss…”
She cleared her throat, licked her lips, and took a step back, needing some room to breathe. “Connor. Pearl Connor.”
He didn’t respond right away, but then that satisfied smile grew. “Pearl Connor.”
A chill raced up her spine at the sound of her name coming from him. Yeah, she’d heard him say her name when she was having sex with him, but this was so much different.
“You want the job, Pearl?” He lifted a dark eyebrow again, as if in challenge.
Looking behind her, she saw Jace and Colton watching them, almost surprised as well. Maybe this was a totally out there attitude for their brother to have, or maybe they felt the heat and tension in the room, growing with each passing second.
Straightening her shoulders, she knew that she needed a job, and although this would be awkward because of what she’d done with Travis, it would be even more tense because of her arousal for him. All she could picture was them together, naked, sweaty, moaning each other’s names. “Yeah, I’d like the job.”
He didn’t respond right away, but then he flashed a smile, twin dimples popping out on his cheeks. “Well, then it’s yours.” He held his hand out toward the front door. “Jace, Colton, how about you lead the way to the stables and we will start there?” Travis said, kept his focus on her, but she heard them open the door, then felt the breeze on her flesh. “After you, Miss Connor.”
She turned, her hands shaking, her desire at war with her need to keep a level head. Before she got out of the door Travis placed his hand on the frame, stopping her. She saw Jace and Colton still moving toward the stable. She heard Travis inhale right by her ear.
“I can still smell myself in your hair, Pearl,” he said, and she turned her head to make eye contact with him. He had this smirk on his face, this arrogance that wasn’t annoying but attractive. He knew what he did to her, how he still affected the way she felt.
Yeah, they’d fucked last night, fucked hard and long, and she’d been sore and deliciously sated in the morning, but it was a one-night stand, right?
He inhaled once more, this low sound leaving him. “I bet your pussy is still sore from when I had my big cock all up inside of you, isn’t it, darlin’?”
Before she could say anything in return, maybe slap his face for his crude language, or clench her thighs in heated arousal, maybe even beg him to have a repeat performance right now, he was moving out the door and past her. She watched him follow his brothers, out onto the patio, and told herself that she was probably making yet another bad mistake.
Yet she wasn’t leaving, and was instead following them, because hell, who wouldn’t want a man like Travis making them feel like they’d combust with just a look? The thing was he was right, about everything. She was sore, she was wet, and she sure as hell wanted to grab her ankles right here and now for him. It was addictive, he was addictive after only one night, and she wanted to see how far he’d go … or more aptly how far she’d go.
Chapter Nine
They made their way into the stables, and the two mares that the brothers were working on taming started going wild. Their mule, Odessa, was in a separate stall, her jaw working as she ate, her big black eyes content as she took everything in. Travis went over to Odessa and patted her on the side.
“This is our mule. She does the hauling of our supplies when we do cattle runs or do hunting for the winter months. She’s a good girl, works hard, and definitely earns her keep.” He looked over at Pearl and saw the way she was still twisting her hands together. She’d been doing that the entire trek down to the stables from the main house.
Yeah, he didn’t have to be so lewd with her, but he’d been surprised as hell to see her standing in his house, the woman that was supposed to be their cleaner and cook. Hell, he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her since last night, and that was unusual for him. He’d immersed himself in work as soon as he got back to the ranch, tried to put her behind him, but the scent of her had been engrained in his head and he hadn’t been able to get rid of his damn hard-on since leaving her.
“You ever work on a ranch before, Pearl?” Jace asked her, and Travis kept his focus on the woman that was driving him mad with need.
She shook her head. “No. Back in the city I did advertising, worked in an office all day, and wore skirts and blouses.”
Colton snorted, Jace grinned, and Travis said nothing, just stood there, imagining her in those tight little business outfits. He wasn’t much for going into the city and dealing with the bullshit of the cars and traffic, loud noises and pollution. He much preferred the solitary lifestyle he chose to lead here in Granite, and it had served him well this entire time.
“You can cook though, right? Clean?” Jace asked, and Colton jabbed him in the gut with an elbow. “Man, ouch,” Jace said and rubbed his stomach.
She smiled, cast a glance at Travis, and he felt his coc
k jerk when her smile faded and her lips parted as she took in a deep breath. Yeah, she was just as affected as he was, and damn if that wasn’t a heady sensation.
“I can cook,” she said and smiled at his brothers.
He could tell they liked her, but then again Pearl had this aura around her, this personality that drew people in. Hell, it had been cone of the reasons he’d been drawn to her. He’d seen her in that bar and felt this pull toward her. She was sitting alone, not even caring that others were watching the newcomer in town, and yet she held herself with assurance, with pride. She may have been afraid, unsure of the situation and her surroundings, but she didn’t allow it to shape her. He liked that in a person, loved that she could hold her own emotionally and didn’t let things she wasn’t familiar with hold her back. Her going to the bar alone was a small sampling of that.
There were hardworking women in this town, ones that were just as stubborn and strong-willed as any man he’d come across, but it wasn’t until he’d locked eyes on Pearl last night that he felt drawn to her, and knew he had to have her.
“Come on, we’ll show you the rest of the property that is within walking distance.” He led them out of the stables, and he pointed out the property line, well, as much as could be seen from their vantage point. Once back in the house Jace and Colton had to tend to one of the stallions that had gotten loose in the west fields. Travis sat at the kitchen table, gestured for Pearl to do the same, and for several seconds all they did was sit there and watch each other.
“You have a beautiful property.”
He was leaning back in his seat, his arm slung over the back of it, and his other resting on the table. “Thanks, it’s been in the family for generations, and we’re just trying to keep it going.”
She nodded, looked around the kitchen, and when she glanced at him again there was this uncertainty in her expression.
