Van, Becca - Double E Ranch [Slick Rock 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

Slick Rock 2

BECCA VAN

Copyright © 2011

Chapter One

Felicity Wagner pulled up next to the long, large ranch house, ten miles outside of Slick Rock, Colorado, turned off the ignition to her small car, took a deep breath, and got out. She walked up the steps to the wide veranda running the length of the house, raised her fist, and knocked on the door. She was hoping she wouldn’t have to turn around and find somewhere to stay the night. She was down to her last three hundred dollars and was desperately hoping she would land this job. She waited nervously, shifting from foot to foot, hoping someone would answer the door soon. She turned her head away from the door and looked around at the corral, barns, and other sheds she could see not more than fifty yards away from the house. As she looked, she raised her hand to knock again. Felicity gasped as her fist landed on something other than the door, making her turn back quickly. She felt her cheeks flush as she saw the tall, brawny man standing in the open doorway with a grin on his face.

“Sorry,” Felicity said as she lowered her eyes to her feet. The first look she got of the man made tingles of warmth shoot up and down her spine, and then the warmth spread to her chest and lower down in her belly.

“No problem,” the man replied in a deep, sexy drawl. “How can I help you?”

“I wanted to apply for the ranch hand job you had advertised in the local paper. Has the position been filled yet?”

“No. What’s your name, darlin’?”

“Oh, sorry. Felicity Wagner. Pleased to meet you Mister…”

“Billy Eagle. Why don’t you come on inside and answer a few questions for me, Felicity,” Billy stated, moving back and allowing Felicity into his house.

Felicity followed Billy into the kitchen where she saw another man with similar features sitting at the kitchen table, drinking from a mug. Felicity hesitated, not wanting to be presumptuous and take a seat without being asked.

“Have a seat, Felicity. Can I get you some coffee?” Billy asked. Felicity accepted the coffee but declined his offer of cream and sugar since she took her coffee black. She was feeling rather uncomfortable because since she had followed Billy into the kitchen, the other man hadn’t taken his eyes off of her.

“Felicity, this is my brother, Tom. Tom, Felicity. She’s here about the ranch hand position,” Billy explained.

Felicity watched as Tom sized her up. His eyes perused her from head to toe. She felt her cheeks burning again as she watched Tom lean back in his chair, fold his arms across his massive chest, and stare at her some more.

“Is that right? How old are you, Felicity?” Tom asked in a deep, gravelly voice.

Felicity had to bite the inside of her cheek to prevent the shiver working its way up and down her spine from making itself noticeable to the two men as Tom’s voice flowed over her.

“I’m twenty-two, Mister Eagle. What has my age got to do with anything?” Felicity asked belligerently.

“Just wanting to make sure you’re old enough. You don’t look a day over fifteen. My name is Tom, not Mister Eagle,” Tom stated with a smirk.

“Okay, Tom. I can’t help the way I look. I thought as long as I can do my job nothing else should matter.”

* * * *

“What makes you think you can do the work of a man, little girl?” Tom goaded, trying to hide his grin. He couldn’t believe how easy it was to rile the gorgeous, petite woman sitting across from him. He knew she wanted to be giving him a dressing down but was trying to hold back so she wouldn’t jeopardize her chances of getting the job. He was having a lot of fun, and he knew Billy was also trying to hide his amusement. Tom looked over and saw Billy looking at him, and he knew the gleam in his brother’s eyes would have been obvious to anyone who knew him.

Neither he nor his brother could take his eyes off the little woman. She was so small compared to him. He and his brother both stood quite a bit over six feet, and the woman sitting in their kitchen glaring at him couldn’t have been more than five two. Her hair was as black as midnight. She had it pulled back from her face with a rubber band, and it looked to be in a loop of sorts, as well. He was itching to pull her hair free and see how long it was. Her eyes were blue, but when she was riled they seemed to turn to a deep violet color. He knew he could lose himself in those eyes. She was wearing denim blue jeans and a flannel shirt, of which the first three buttons were undone. He could just make out a hint of cleavage, which was enough to tempt any saint. She had curves in all the right places as far as he could see, but for some reason she didn’t tuck her shirt in. It looked like she was trying to hide her curves from prying eyes. He wondered if she was one of those women who thought she could do anything a man could. One of those modern women who were into portraying themselves as a feminist suffragette.

Tom and Billy were fine with women who wanted to be like men, as long as it wasn’t around them. They had both been searching for a woman who would be independent and not a clinging vine, but also feminine enough to hand over all her control to them. They wanted a submissive woman to share between them, especially in the bedroom. Tom couldn’t believe how smooth and creamy her skin looked. She looked to be so soft and gentle, yet the fire in her eyes said otherwise. If she was a ranch hand, how the hell had she kept her skin so white and soft?

* * * *

“I grew up on a ranch. I can ride, shoot, and round up as good as any man. If you don’t believe me, why not put me to a test? If you like what I can do, then maybe I can work for you,” Felicity spat out through clenched teeth. God, what had she gotten herself into?

The two men eying her from across the table were two of the sexiest, handsomest men she’d ever set eyes on. Their skin was a sexy bronzed color, showing their Indian heritage. They both had shoulder-length black hair and brown eyes. They were both well over six feet in height, making her feel like a small child. They had sharp cheekbones and square, chiseled jaws. Their bodies were a testament to all the hard physical work she knew they did on their ranch, but Tom was a lot broader and more muscular than Billy. He reminded her of a large tree trunk. His hands looked too big to be holding on to the coffee mug he was sipping on. It was a wonder it hadn’t broken apart in his hands. She wondered if he was sexist against women doing men’s work and, if so, why he felt a woman wasn’t as good as a man.

“Now, that’s not such a bad idea, Tom. Why not let this here little girl show us what she’s made of?” Billy asked.

“All right, we have a bunch of calves to round up and get into the corral for branding. You can come with us and show us what you’ve got. I’ll decide after I’ve seen you in action,” Tom stated as he rubbed his whiskered jaw.

“Thank you, Mister Eagle.”

“Tom and Billy,” Tom replied.

“Tom.”

Felicity watched as Tom pushed his chair back and stood up. He walked over to Felicity and pulled her chair out as she stood. She was so tiny she barely reached his chest. He kept his eyes on hers as she stepped back and waited for him to move first. She was a little intimidated by his size and wanted him to lead the way out of the house.

“Jack, can you tack up for us and get Zeus saddled up, as well?” Tom called out and then turned back to her. “Jack’s the foreman of the Double E Ranch.” Felicity saw Jack look to his boss and wondered why he looked so incredulous, but the foreman replied without question.

“Sure thing, boss,” Jack replied.

“Tom, what—”

“Leave it, Billy,” Tom commanded in a hard voice.

Felicity wondered what was going on, but didn’t dare ask. Tom’s hard, commanding voice gave her goose bumps. She had a feeling she was in over her head, but couldn’t figure out why.

Felicity caught sight of Jack leading three horses out of the barn. They were all tacked up, just waiting to be mounted. The big black stallion prancing skittishly drew her eye. He was such a gorgeous animal. His muscles rippled as he moved, and his black coat was so dark she could see traces of blue in it. He had to stand at least seventeen hands, and she knew he would be a handful for anyone who rode him. She guessed he was probably Tom’s horse. He would certainly need a large, muscular horse to ride. The other horses were just as large, but Zeus had more fire in him.

Felicity watched as Tom moved over to Zeus, grabbed his bridle, and led the horse toward her. Felicity didn’t move, not wanting him to know he intimidated her, but she hoped like hell he was leading that horse to her. She would show that arrogant ass she wasn’t some prissy little female.

“You get to ride Zeus here. Let me warn you though, he’s a bit of a handful,” Tom advised.

“Oh, good. I love a feisty horse,” Felicity said with a grin.

“Okay, let’s get going. I want to be finished before nightfall,” Tom stated as he mounted.

Felicity watched as Billy mounted his horse. Then when she knew the two men were watching her to see how such a small woman would mount such a large horse, she hid her grin. She vaulted into the saddle without so much as using a stirrup. Zeus, obviously not used to be mounted in such a way, protested. He reared up and tried to throw her. Felicity clung to the horse’s sides with her knees and legs, pulled on the bridle gently, all the while crooning to the finicky stallion. When she had the large animal under control, she looked over to the two men and had to bite her tongue to stop the laugh bubbling up from her chest. They looked to be in shock.

* * * *

Tom nudged his mount and set off at a hard gallop. Not once did he look back to see if Felicity was following or having trouble keeping up. He knew Billy would keep an eye on her and call out if there was trouble. Tom slowed the pace down after letting his mount run for about fifteen minutes. He didn’t want to tire his horse out too much before they could round up all the calves. He saw movement in his peripheral vision and knew Felicity and Billy were riding just a little back from him to his right. So it seemed the little woman could ride even better than she’d said. He wondered who had taught her. She didn’t seem to be having any trouble with Zeus at all.

Tom pulled to a stop on the top of a small hill. He breathed in the clean, fresh air as he watched the calves frolicking and grazing in the paddock below. There were at least fifty calves that needed to be brought into the corral. Usually he let his foreman Jack and the ranch hands deal with the roundup, but he really wanted to see what this little woman was made of. But more importantly he wanted her in his bed. He wondered if he could put his conceitedness aside for a change. He doubted it.

Tom knew most of the women in Slick Rock thought of him as a sexist, arrogant bastard. He didn’t care though. He knew what he wanted in a woman, and he usually wasn’t prepared to settle for anything else. But seeing Felicity made him wonder if he could change his way of thinking. Maybe he could let a woman be who she was and work the way she wanted throughout the day, as long as she became submissive in the bedroom. He rubbed his hand over his face and gave a sigh. It was definitely worth thinking about.

“We need to round up the calves down in that paddock and get them back to the corral near the house,” Tom said to Felicity without looking at her. “Come on, let’s get this done.”

The three of them worked in tandem. It took them less than two hours to get the calves back into the corral. Tom couldn’t believe how hard Felicity worked. She became one with her horse and took off like lightning when some of the calves broke free of the herd. She and Zeus worked like they had been together for years. She had Zeus cutting the cattle off before they could get too far away. In fact, if he had been asked to compare her skills to Jack, he would have had to say Felicity was much better, and that was saying something.

Jack had the branding iron nice and hot by the time the three of them had all the calves in the corral. The other four ranch hands were ready and waiting to help with the tedious, backbreaking job. Tom decided to test the mettle of the small woman helping them out for the afternoon, wondering if she’d baulk at the idea of burning a brand into the hide of the calves.

“Felicity, I want you to help Jack with the branding. The ranch hands can bring the calves to you and hold ’em down. I need to get some paperwork done. I’ll be in my office, Jack. Billy, I need some help, come with me,” Tom demanded as he led his mount to the barn.

After pulling the tack from their horses, giving their mounts a rubdown, and seeing their horses were watered and fed, Tom led the way back to the house. He could see Billy was itching to bitch at him for the way he had treated Felicity, but knew his brother would hold his tongue until they got back to the house, away from prying ears.