Triple K Set

by Beck, J. L.

  Jet closed his mouth and stared. “For…?”

  “…That time he broke a guy’s jaw for groping me while we were standing in line at the zoo.”

  Mister Cowboy Sundae stood very still, looking like he was really frozen over by her familial recollections.

  Maggie smirked, hoping he would finally back off this marriage craziness, as she planted her hands on her hips. “Wade and Dad are actually smaller men compared to the rest of the family. So, if you are serious like you keep claiming…You’d better invest in some body armor or something. ‘Cause people may be rowdy here in Texas but in Australia, they are flatout bush whack.”

  Tilting his head at her, he grinned as his shoulders relaxed. “You’re teasing me again, right?” He chuckled, as he looked relieved. “Very funny college girl, very funny.”

  She shrugged and kept her expression neutral. All the sudden it was Smart Girl up against Hot Cowboy again, and she felt like she was finally standing on even ground.

  His amused smile dropped away.

  “I’m just saying…you may have to face more chin music before this insane, badly directed episode of Dallas is over.”

  He shook his head in amusement. “Well, so be it then. Consider me, standing in the ring then.” He raised his bruised chin at her. “I will be standing there, till the credits roll.”

  Her hands dropped from her curvy hips. “What?”

  Jet walked over to the fridge, opened it and grabbed a beer, as though everything was hunky dory.

  “God dammit Jet!” He just got beat the hell up by three to six cowboys in a pile that would have suffocated him and pounded on by an Aussie tank, then almost got his clock cleaned by big Wade. Is he what the southerners call tetched in the head?

  He turned his so-called tetched head to glance at her as he brought the cold beer up to his jaw. “What?”

  “This isn’t funny anymore. I mean you know that nothing happened between us last night!”

  Switching the cold bottle to the other side of his jaw, he asked, “Oh, yeah?”

  “Yeah!”

  “I told your dad it did happen and I had wanted it to happen.”

  “Oooh!” she shouted in frustration. “I was drunk, drugged or something and you were sober for Pete’s sake!”

  Popping the cap off the beer bottle, he took a huge gulp and then glanced over at her. “And your point is?”

  Maggie sighed. “Dammit Jet. Now, I want to take a swing at you myself! Hand me that bottle, so I can give you a whack!”

  Chuckling, he took another swig, then swiped his mouth. “I might as well be wearing a sign, Hi, I’m Jet, take your best shot.”

  “I swear there’s just no talking to you about this!”

  His expression turned serious as he set the beer down and strode over to her.

  Maggie took a step back.

  He swooped her up and carried her to the couch in the living room. “I just get all worked up, when you get worked up like this, Mags.”

  “Now, Jet…We need to get this whole mess cleaned up! You can’t just—”

  Halting his steps, he smothered her words with his warm lips.

  Maggie sucked in a breath as this time, his velvety tongue pressed right into her mouth. Her body became like a lit candle as he tightened his hold and kissed her deeply. He tasted of beer and a heady flavor she couldn’t pinpoint. Oh, man…she lost track of what they were talking about and everything else in the world.

  He removed his lips. “It hurts to kiss you,” he whispered as he placed his forehead gently against hers.

  Maggie gulped. “A doctor would advise staying off those lips for a couple of days.”

  His eyes twinkled. “I didn’t mean my lips hurt.” He grinned.

  Getting the gist, she gasped.

  “I couldn’t promise to stop the lip action around you, sweet Mags in any case. I meant that I hurt in other areas.” He swung around and sat down on the couch with her on his lap.

  Again, she had no response. What could she say? She wanted him? She did, but she wasn’t about to fall for all of this. A man like this suddenly taking on a new leaf? A whole new attitude overnight? Willing to get hitched and settle down all the sudden? Then, he says it’s her that he wants to be tied to forever? It had to be something else and she needed to put a stop to all this nonsense—

  His hot lips fell onto her neck.

  She sucked in a breath as her body tingled while he kissed her tender skin there. He was caressing her bottom while his mouth explored her neck.

  Maggie let out a sigh, it just felt too delicious and he had this way of fogging up her thinking. Like he exuded scented smoke tinged with some kind of cowboy opium, clogging up her ability to think straight.

  For several minutes, they sat together remaining silent, as he gently caressed her body through her clothes, her hip, thigh and then back up to her shoulder while he would gently squeeze her butt cheek with his other hand and sort of rock her body on his lap. She felt so giddy and sexy too, while she just drifted along on this soothing Texas Jet River of sensations.

  “Two words,” he whispered hotly to her ear.

  Shivering at the hotness in her ear, she replied, “Um—help me?” she whimpered the guess.

  He chuckled softly as he eased her from his lap.

  Breathless, she slid down onto her back to stare up at him.

  Wincing, Jet suddenly looked uncomfortable.

  “What? Did I hurt your stomach?” Maggie was thinking about that down under, gut punch her dad was famous for.

  Biting his already split lip, he shook his head. “Your head is—well…”

  Maggie’s eyes rounded as she felt the hard bulge beneath her head. He really is turned on! The devil that lived in her ever since she was little reared up. She rolled her head from side to side on his jean covered lap. “Seems like this might be a head on collision,” she joked.

  Unexpectedly in a swift motion, he grabbed her waist and hefted her up to sit directly with her ass meeting his hardness through his jeans. “Now, this is the collision I want.”

  Gulping, Maggie was fast learning her lesson not to be that little devil created chick teasing the big ole chicken hawk.

  His hands came around and cupped her large breasts.

  Holding her breath, she felt her panties getting wet as he nudged his nose to her ear. His hot breath caused chilly goose bumps to rise on her skin.

  “Tempting me, will lead to something that may mess up my plans.”

  “P-plans?”

  Jet let out a sigh and swirled his tongue around the outside of her ear. “Yep.”

  Shaking now, she was trying to keep her breathing even. “What—plans?’

  “Doing it right by you from here on.”

  Maggie didn’t feel like that was any kind of answer, but once again, her brain was stuck in neutral when this cowboy was too near. Brain in neutral, engine going a hundred. The combination was dangerous to say the least.

  He slid his finger down to the crease of her jeans and stroked her there.

  “Ohhh,” Maggie let out with a weak moan. The phrase, gone in sixty seconds came to mind, as she knew she could only stand another minute of this.

  “I wanna strip you down and start at your feet, lick all the way up along that lush frame of yours,” he breathed the words into her ear as he massaged her clit through her jeans. “Then I wanna, fill every part of you…with me.”

  With his sensual litany of words that were actually hardcore promises, her throat closed right up. The cold, hard truth then hit her like a brick through a window. And I would let him! God help me…I would lay myself out like an offering at the Smokehouse Buffet!

  Jet’s breath was heaving in his chest behind her, as his breathing grew heavy in her ear. He abruptly sat her up and jumped off the couch. “Dammit!” he seethed.

  Mags dropped back down fully onto her back and gaped up at the hard-bodied cowboy.

  Standing tall, his jeans molded to his long powerful legs
, with his shirt ripped in several places, all stained with grass and spots of red. He could wear anything though and still look good enough to eat. Or nothing at all would suit her. OH! She just realized the direction her thoughts went to as her panting became very evident.

  Jet stared down at her for a full minute as he clenched his fists. He then sighed and combed his fingers through his hair, his expression turning form hard to soft. “Look, I…” he halted. “I want…” he halted again. “If I stay any longer, I’m gonna burst and the bursting will happen inside of you!” He turned around, strode to the door and opened it.

  Batting her eyes and feeling like someone who just got done over, turned over and rolled over, she stared open mouthed at his receding form.

  Grasping the knob, he sighed again, facing the door as his shoulders actually slumped. “I will do right by you, because this is too important not to and I won’t be that man ever again. Come on up to the big house and I will help you with…Oh, hell! Housekeeping?” He went out and shut the door.

  Maggie bolted upright as she stared at the closed door. What in all holy crap was all that? She swung her shaky legs over the side of the couch. Her head rose up, as her mind was finally getting clear again. Do right by me? Well, didn’t he claim to have already done me wrong? For the first time in Maggie’s logic filled easy to manage life, she couldn’t figure someone out. Up was down and down was ass up!

  Could someone take a joke this far for revenge? She did humiliate him big time at the Stud ranch and in front of both their families too. She stilled and remembered the expression on his face back then.

  He had stood on the second stair landing at Daisy’s house, looking like a lipstick truck just overturned on top of him—covered in pinks, reds and rose colored glosses. His hair had stuck up straight in the air, like someone just gelled it into a kinky looking emo swoop on top of his head. His shirt had been ripped clean off his most excellent muscled torso. Those eyes of his, which were just bored-looking or half-lidded before, like he didn’t really care about anything at all, had glared right at her.

  Then she remembered the rest of it. It came to her like someone just doused her with a bucket of ice water…

  He had this look in his eyes. She saw interest there all right and something else new, she couldn’t put her finger on at the time.

  Then, he slowly shook his head at her. You will lose, he had mouthed at her.

  Her eyes widened at the challenge and she had squared her shoulders. Blank slates can’t win, she had mouthed back.

  His eyes then flared with anger.

  “Besides, I think you smell too purty and you wear way too much lipstick to be very dangerous,” the hushed insult slipped out before her brain could stop it.

  The overconfident lipstick covered cowboy looked shocked.

  At his expression, Maggie had felt smug once again, as she peeked around to make sure no one saw them staring and talking to each other.

  Jet hadn’t been looking anywhere else though, so when she gazed back up, he caught her eye. He wore a huge grin, as if he’d already won this game of Smart Girl against Hot Cowboy.

  Maggie bit at her lip and she remembered thinking at the time that she had gotten herself into, ‘nonsense and trouble’. And that was where she found herself right this minute too. Only this time, it was somewhere in between a rock and a hard place while Jet Playboy Kincade just became both things.

  So, Smart Girl knew better than to just believe everything Mr. Hot Cowboy said today. When just 2 days ago, he had vowed to best her. Yeah, he really seemed turned on by her just now and if he were the Jet, everyone thought he was? The one who had smugly come onto her in the first place and deserved that lipstick prank, he would have tried going all the way with her by now. I mean I was laying myself right on the tracks of his steaming train earlier today and again, just now.

  One thing she did know was if this all didn’t change soon—she was going to actually be married to this sexy man, who she hated just 24 hours ago. Or? Was he going to go so far as to leave her at the altar? She shook her head, would someone actually be that bent? Also, his life wouldn’t be worth squat if he really did that. Her relatives would hunt him down and put him in the hospital. Then she felt sure his family would cut him off like a bad habit.

  How did I get here to this unexpected trap? She’d sworn at that time when he stood there at the Stud ranch glaring at her while wearing that smirking grin? She was gonna teach him what for and show him he wasn’t this walking cowboy god that he appeared to be. Then instead of doing that, she woke up right here on this couch and it all went south. Now, he’s picking out wedding patterns?

  I refuse to be made a fool of. If I could only figure out what he was really up to!

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  WORLD WAR TEA

  MAGGIE

  The Big House Dining Room,

  Triple K Ranch, Flatonia Texas…

  The long table sat covered in dishes full of food. Fried Chicken, BBQ chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, rolls, corn on the cob and biscuits.

  “Whew!” Brea sat the last dish down and wiped her hands on her apron. “This is a lot of food!”

  Maggie stared across the food-laden spread as she removed her apron after helping load up the table. It must seat 20 at the very least. “This is isn’t food, it’s a grease covered, carb loaded heart attack type pastime, that’s what it is!”

  “Pastime?” Cole walked into the dining room wearing a smile. “You mean it’s suppertime right?”

  “Just look at all that grease!”

  Brea laughed. “This is what Texans eat, Mags.”

  “Grease?” Jet walked in from the far door. “Lead me to it!”

  Maggie stared as her body flushed just at the sight of him. How can he eat like this and look like that? The both of these cowboys just had to eat healthier than this.

  The more than healthy looking cowboy took off his hat, walked over and kissed her on the cheek while taking her hand.

  Brea and Cole stared openly and then glanced at each other, then back at the couple holding hands.

  “What?” Jet ginned at them. “You think I’m gonna act like I forgot all about my promise to sweet Maggie? Like I didn’t mean what I said?”

  “No, that isn’t it,” Cole replied quietly.

  Jet’s eyes narrowed at his brother. “Then what?”

  “I just wanna ask, who the blazes are you and what the hell have you done with my brother?”

  Brea broke into laughter.

  Jet returned to his grinning of before. “Someone else changed your twin, Cole.” He swung his tender gaze down to Maggie.

  Maggie sucked in her breath at the gentle note in his deep voice, then she quipped, “How? By pranking you with a barrel of hungry she-monkeys carrying loaded lipstick?”

  The room went silent as Jet stared at her.

  Cole looked tense like he expected trouble.

  Brea nervously took his hand as if she too felt nervous.

  Jet cracked a huge smile and started to laugh. He then tossed his cowboy hat over to one of the chairs.

  The other three gaped at him.

  He kissed Maggie on the cheek again. “I admit, I have never been groped by that many females at once, they damn near took the shine off my Champion belt!”

  Cole snapped his open mouth shut with a look of surprise all over his face.

  Maggie gave him a beady eyed stare. “You mean to tell me that you don’t care that I humiliated you like that?”

  Brea cleared her throat as if to try to calm things down. “Now, Mags—”

  “No.” Jet stopped chuckling as he retorted, “You actually apologized remember? And you covered my ass by lying about me hitting on you.”

  “Is that so?” Daisy walked into the room with Rand next to her.

  Both couples stood stock-still.

  Jet turned to face Daisy and Rand. “I was just flirting and I meant no harm.”

  Daisy looked like she was going to bust this
cowboy up. “NO harm?” She raised her voice.

  “Mama Daisy…” Maggie spoke up.

  Her glare shifted to her daughter.

  “Jet hasn’t done anything wrong.”

  “Oh, really?” Rand finally piped in.

  Maggie huffed angrily. “Yeah! REALLY! I mean I don’t know why he insists that anything ever—”

  “Is this gonna be another Kincade, Plush, Monroe throw down?” Mable’s voice cut in. All eyes shifted to her standing at the head of the table.

  “ ‘Cause you’d better take it outside if’n that’s the case. I got my good china on this damn table!”

  They all stared at her very severe expression.

  She harrumphed loudly as she crossed her arms over her chest. “That’s what I thought. Besides, we are gonna have other guests and I don’t want no tussling, back jumping, fist pounding, white trash dinner in my house!”

  At the not so flattering description, they all looked sheepish.

  “Guests?” Cole asked.

  “Am I late for the next round of beat down?” Kanda called out in a cheerful voice.

  Everyone swung their gazes over to Wade and Kanda who stood at the far side of the dining room holding hands.

  Her cheeks were rosy as her eyes sparkled. “I just wanna ask if it can wait, because I could eat a whole bull right about now!”

  The group stared at her.

  Wade flushed a straight up pink.

  “Lordy, looks like you already been to that beef auction Kandy girl,” Daisy just had to respond with a snicker in her voice.

  Kanda didn’t seem to take any offense to the taunt as she grinned hugely and gazed up at Wade while she actually let out a girl like giggle.

  Her mother and both brothers gasped simultaneously. Seems they never heard a giggle from this particular Kincade before.

  Mable stared at her usually serious, no nonsense daughter. “What is happening to my kids? I swear Kanda you look—you look like a damn happy woman.”

  Kanda simply held Wade’s hand as she kept beaming.

  Clearing his throat, Cole spoke up, “So, now that the guests have arrived Ma, can we eat? I’m hankering for some of Brea’s fried chicken something awful.”