Cowboy Double-Decker (13 page)

Their eyes lingered on each other as they slowly covered their bodies. Promising with looks and gestures what they’d do that night, their last together. She had absolutely no idea what she’d do Saturday morning, other than check out before eleven. She would
not
worry about it until Bryan kissed her goodbye. She promised herself to live in the moment this week, instead of constantly worrying about the future, and had done well so far.

She zipped up her jeans and knelt to pick up a toy Scotty had left under the bed.

“Come to the ranch with me,” said Bryan.

She whipped around to stare at him, unsure where the question had come from.

“What?” she squeaked. “Why?”

He lifted her, pulling her into his lap as he sat on the end of the bed. For a moment he just held his arms around her, his chin resting on her head.

“Why not? You got anywhere else to go for Thanksgiving?”

Kaela closed her eyes, biting her lip so not to speak. Thoughts of the future had insinuated themselves into her brain all week, but she’d forced them away by studying even harder. The thought of being in his home made her heart pound and her feet want to run. She just didn’t know if she wanted to run to him or away.

“You can have your own room,” he said when she didn’t speak.

“A lock on the door and your own private bathroom. Scotty can either stay with you or bunk in with the girls. I’m not pushing for sex—this is from one friend to another.” He brushed her breast with his knuckles. “Not that I would refuse if you come to my bed. After all, you do owe me a tie-down session.”

His heart pounded against her back, imitating her own. Driving west, she’d fallen in love with the mountains. Photos from his ranch
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suggested it would make a perfect Christmas card. Smoke curling out of the main building’s stone chimney, sun shining off snow glistening on the roof, trees and mountains.

No matter how much she wanted to say yes, once she got there, how would she be able to leave? She gritted her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut, fighting tears and “might have beens.” She pretended Bryan was hers when other women shot envious glances. Knowing it would never be, she allowed herself to enjoy the fantasy. Just another fantasy soon to go up in smoke. All her childhood dreams and prayers that her parents would return and rescue her had come to nothing. Her adult ones of a stable home full of children’s laughter and temporary tears were no different. It was time to get back to stark reality and pretend the past week was only a three-dimensional movie.

Only when she’d shoved her feelings deep did she reply.

“I don’t know how to thank you for what you’ve done this week.”

She kept her thumbs curled inside her fists to stop herself from picking at her cuticles, or worse, reaching out to him. “You’ve got no idea what it’s meant to me to have Scotty so happy. No one’s taken care of me like this. Ever.” She sat up and straightened her back, pulling away from his welcoming heat. “But I can’t be beholden to you even more. So, no thanks.”

“Beholden? What the hell is that about?”

He pushed her away to look at her. She held her breath, his fierce frown proving his anger. But the expected panic didn’t slam into her.

She inhaled, trembling, but not in fear of her safety.

Not with Bryan. Never with Bryan.

He dropped his volume a notch. “Dammit, Kaela, you don’t owe me a damn thing, so get off your high horse and cut the crap.”

She leaned away from his yelling. He sighed and dropped his head back, eyes shut. She did owe him a promise, but no way would she remind him, though she’d fantasized about what he might do to her.

He looked down at her and snorted.

“Hell, woman, we both know you don’t have anywhere else to
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go.”

She bit back her need to say “yes!” Like any offer that was too good to be true, it was loaded with problems. If she went to a ranch in the middle of nowhere, how could she escape? She’d have no transportation and knew no one other than Bryan.

She’d seen firsthand what happened to women who were dependent on men. No way would she end up like Aunt Delia, tied to a brute by promises before God and a lack of resources of her own.

She had little money, no job, and nowhere to go. If she went to him like this, how could she hold her head up as an equal? How long until he began to take her for granted, then started wearing her down until she was another Aunt Delia? No way would she raise Scotty in that type of toxic environment. Far better to live hand-to-mouth for a few months. At least she knew her money problems would ease with the spring.

“I make my own way in this world, beholden to no one. All I can give you is sex and you can get that from Candy.”

“God, Kaela!” he roared.

He jumped to his feet, dumping her on the bed to pace back and forth. He snorted like a bull, chest heaving and muscles flexing. She hadn’t faced a man like that since she left Uncle Wesley’s place. She automatically braced herself for a blow and then remembered this was Bryan. After a minute he stopped, scrubbed his face with his hands, and stared down at her. His thunderous expression evaporated.

“Aw, hell, I’m not gonna hit you just ’cause you pissed me off.”

He jammed his hands in his jeans pockets but didn’t back away. “If all I wanted from you was sex, do you think I’d be this damn horny?”

He lowered his voice to almost a whisper. “It killed me to hold you every night because, dammit, I sure as hell wanted to do more!”

“I’m sorry, I should have—”

“No, you shouldn’t have done anything different.” He glowered down at her, lips pressed tight together. “Know anything about web pages?”

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“What’s that got to do with—?”

“Will you just answer the question, woman!”

She hauled herself to her feet and stood on the bed, staring down, her exasperation close to his.

“Yes, I do,” she yelled back. “Part of my job was to revise and maintain the company website.”

“Good. I’ll hire you to create a webpage for the Double R.”

“If you’re trying to make me agree by throwing me a bone—”

“Will you shut up and listen?”

She clenched her teeth, blinking fast and chest heaving. Bryan scrubbed his hands over his face again.

“The Double R needs a top quality webpage to expand our client base for range-fed organic beef. Candy tried to make one and drove herself nuts. Which made Adam and me crazy. She’s really artistic but doesn’t have the computer experience. If more chefs in the northeastern states order from us, we could ship our product more efficiently.” He shrugged. “You could work on your own advertising at the same time.”

Kaela crossed her arms and turned her back on him, heart pounding even harder. Without electronic resources to make a web page and advertise herself, she couldn’t get a job. Without a job, she couldn’t do anything else. He was offering her free room and board in return for the use of her brain to get a start on her new life.

Would spending two weeks with Bryan and his extended family kill her? Not after what she’d already gone through. As long as she kept her defenses up, she’d be okay. She’d enjoy the ranch as if it was only a two-week vacation, knowing she had to leave right after. That was the only way she could get by.

And then there was that whole orgasm thing. She hadn’t begun to explore that new world. She clenched her internal muscles against the ache that hit. Her swelling nipples itched, and she pressed her arms tight to hide the evidence. They hadn’t had sex since she’d tied him up Sunday night. Like a pair of old married folks, they’d shared
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nothing but snores all week. During the day they made out whenever they could, but that just made the nights worse.

“Look at me, Kaela,” he said calmly.

She turned around, back straight, and stared him in the eye as if she was at a job interview.

“Adam and Candy won’t bother you and neither will I.” She fought a smile at the panty-remover leer which followed his words.

“Unless you want us to.”

Tucked under Bryan’s arm before falling asleep each night, his soft snores filling her ears, she thought about the wild pictures. At first she told herself it was only to get her mind off her coursework so she could sleep. But she had to admit that the thought of two men pleasuring her made her so hot the only reason she could sleep was sheer exhaustion.

“Won’t Adam want, well, something more from me?”

“Both of us can want all we like, but Candy won’t let us push you.” He shook his head, the smile a mix of love and exasperation.

“We might want to pretend otherwise, but that tiny woman is the ranch boss. We’ve learned not to piss her off.”

He walked closer, his arms open, and waited. She took the final step, wrapping her arms around him. Bryan moaned and hugged her close. She never realized how alone she’d been until his gruff bear hugs allowed her to really relax. It wasn’t just that he was big, strong, and powerful. He was also caring, thoughtful, and considerate. Scotty loved him to bits and the feeling was returned.

She had no idea if he was loaded or the ranch was mortgaged to the last cow. It didn’t matter. She wanted to be with Bryan, to let the dream continue for a little while longer.

“And you,” he murmured, kissing her shoulder, “still owe me a night of surrender.”

“I haven’t forgotten, since you keep reminding me,” she groused, though his words and touch made her shiver.

“Before you leave the Double R, I want you to watch Adam make
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love with Candy.” He grasped her bottom and pulled her close, proving his arousal. “To lie beside them while I make love with you, all of us sharing pleasure. If us guys get to watch you women play, it will drive us crazy.”

She clenched her thighs together at the rush of lust that hit. When he nibbled her neck, she rose on her toes to rub herself against him.

She’d already admitted to herself that she found Adam attractive, at least in the photos. And, though she’d never thought of being with a woman before, she was curious. What did it feel like to roll a nipple around with your tongue? How was a woman’s touch different from a man’s?

“I e-mailed some photos of you and Scotty.” He slid one hand from her bottom up her belly to grasp a breast. She hummed when his warm hand squeezed. “Adam agrees your ass is delectable. He’s withholding judgment on your boobs until he sees them up close and personal.”

“Bryan!” She pushed him back and thumped his chest. “You said you deleted them!”

He’d taken a front view of her lying on the bed in her emerald nightie. Her naughty bits were covered, barely. A couple of photos had her wearing jeans and a T-shirt without a bra. In one she bent over, facing away from him, and the other showed erect nipples. She laughed at the time but got cold feet the next day and asked him to bleep them.

“I deleted them as soon as you said.” He shrugged, but didn’t look sorry. “But I’d already I sent them. It wasn’t as if you were naked or anything.”

She pouted in a pretend huff, though the thought of Bryan wanting Adam to see her and of what the other man might think gave her an itchy ache. Even more, what would Adam want to do with her?

Bryan’s hands, mouth, and cock felt so good, she wanted to know what two men pleasing her felt like. She ducked her head as a rush of heat rose from her shirt.

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“I know what that blush means,” he said, pulling her close again.

He kissed her nose. “‘Fess up. The thought of sharing a bed with us makes you horny.”

She cursed her translucent skin once again. He tilted her chin with a finger. His eyes crinkled down at her, matched by his wicked smile.

“Come for Thanksgiving. No pressure, okay? Scotty will love to boss around the girls.” He kissed her forehead, an endearing look on his face as he spoke of his daughters. “Hey, what am I saying?” He curled up one side of his mouth. “He’ll learn to get pushed around by females, just like the big guys.”

She took a deep breath, the movement rasping her nipples against his chest. No one had made her feel like this before. Scotty was her life, but this man pulled at her like the moon did the tide. Unceasing, though invisible.

“I can’t go unless Candy invites me. It’s her home. And if there’s any chance I might cause problems between you—”

“No worries.” He released her and strode to the bedside table. “I’ll call her now.” He punched in ten numbers, winking at her while it rang. “Candy?”

Kaela could hear the squeal of delight, though she couldn’t make out any words.

“Yeah, I’m bringing a friend home for Thanksgiving. She wants to make sure it’s okay with you.”

He looked over and smiled. “Of course it’s Kaela.” He held the phone out. “Candy wants to talk with you.”

Kaela took the receiver hesitantly, as if it might bite.

“Um, Candy?”

“Oh,
please
say you’re coming home with Bryan! I haven’t had another woman in the house in months and I’m desperate for some gal time. If Bry comes home alone, I’ll drown in testosterone!” Candy laughed and then dropped the overdramatic enthusiasm. “Seriously, it would be great to have you visit. Other than Doc’s wife, Madge, there isn’t another woman who visits much. I love her dearly, but she’s in
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her sixties. A friend my age would be heaven!”

Candy sounded bright and cheerful, like she’d be a lot of fun.

Kaela’s disapproving aunt and uncle stopped her from having friends as a child. She made a few at college but, once she got pregnant, she had too much else on her mind and they drifted away.

“I don’t want to intrude.” She twisted the cord in her fingers.

“You won’t and neither will we. There are two separate, well insulated suites. If you don’t want to stay with Bryan, you can have the room sharing a bath with the girls. Scottie can stay there, too.”

“It sounds lovely, but—”