Caught Between Two Cowboys [Carnal Cowboys 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 10

  But damn it. He wasn’t one of those guys.

  “Jarrod, she told you to back off.”

  Seth’s stern reprimand washed over him. He’d backed off, giving Jarrod his time with her first.

  “Jarrod.” Seth’s tone was even more forceful. “Back off. Now.”

  He wouldn’t force her. Not even if it tore him apart to turn her free.

  He reared back, pushing away from her like she’d turned into a poisonous snake. And yet, if the snake would’ve wanted to bite him, would’ve allowed him to stay close, he would’ve gladly taken the poisonous bite and died.

  “Damn it, Amy. You know you want this as much as I do.” He had to growl out the words.

  Her lips were plumped from his kiss. The sight of her luscious mouth alone could’ve made him come if he hadn’t twisted away from the alluring sight. He put his back to her. If he didn’t, he’d never keep his hands off her.

  “I’m sorry. I can’t do this.”

  “Why the hell not?” She expected too much from him. He was only a man, his strength to resist limited.

  “Jesse might walk in.”

  “Seth can keep watch for him.”

  “No.”

  It wasn’t her brother’s fault, but at that moment, he would’ve loved to have wrung Jesse’s neck and gotten rid of him. “Then let’s go upstairs to my room.” He sought out Seth. His brother’s jaw was tight, his hands shoved in his pockets. “To our room.”

  Seth gave a slight nod, agreeing.

  “He’ll know. He’s not stupid.”

  She was right. Jesse wasn’t stupid. He was a manipulator who’d do everything he could to keep her right where he wanted her. Helping him. Taking care of him. And in the meantime, her life came to a standstill.

  He dragged a hand over his face and took a breath before facing her. And damned if he didn’t want to grab her and carry her over his shoulder to his bed. “He’s a grown man. I’m sure he knows about the birds and the bees. He’ll understand.” Not that he cared if Jesse understood or not. All he wanted was to convince her.

  She slid off the counter then pulled her clothes together. “I can’t do this.”

  He had to get her to change her mind. If not, he’d spend the rest of the night in a cold shower. “Yeah, you can. If you really want to.”

  Seth had grown quiet, letting him work through his need to have her. He could imagine his brother’s own lust swirling inside his belly.

  She was about to tell him she wanted it as much as he did. He knew she was. If only she’d give in. If only she’d forget about protecting Jesse just this once.

  But then, she backed off. “I’m sorry.” Hurrying past him, she dashed out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

  “Fuck.” He started after her, but Seth brought him up short.

  “Leave her be. She’s not ready.”

  Seth was right. Pushing her might send her running. Forcing his legs to move, he stalked into the office. Seth followed him and closed the double doors.

  He poured them both a shot glass of whiskey, slugged his back, and poured himself another. “Thanks. If you hadn’t been there…”

  “No problem. But you wouldn’t have taken it too far. You’re not that kind of man.”

  He closed his eyes, letting the whiskey work its way through him. He couldn’t keep his mind off her, but he had to change the way he was thinking. “Something’s up with Jesse and she knows what it is. And if her brother’s problem is keeping her from getting close to us, then I want to know what the hell it really is.”

  “Then you know it’s got nothing to do with this Bandura guy’s girlfriend.”

  “Course not. Fucking another guy’s girlfriend, my ass.” He threw back another shot. “That’s bullshit.”

  “Take it easy, bro.”

  It was a hell of a day when his brother had to keep him in check. But Seth was right. He put the lid on the bottle. Getting drunk wouldn’t help.

  “I’m going to find out what’s really going on.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket and punched in Mitch’s number. If anyone could help him, it was Mitch. Having done a few years as a highway patrolman, Mitch still had connections on the force.

  His friend picked up after two rings. “Hey, Jarrod. What’s up?”

  “I need a favor.” He walked over to the window and peered outside. Jesse was beside his pickup, his face pressed against the driver’s side window. If the kid thought he was going to break in and hot-wire his vehicle, he’d find out the hard way not to mess with a cowboy’s rig. And if he took his gun, he’d catch all kinds of hell. He’d get the gun and hide it in his bedroom as soon as he hung up.

  “Sure. Shoot.” Fucking bad choice of words.

  He put his back to the window then motioned for Seth to watch Jesse. “Can you run a background check on a couple of people?”

  Mitch’s silence said he hadn’t expected the question. “Yeah. I’ll have to get with my buddy at the station, but it can be done. It’ll take a day or two, though.”

  “You sure this is a good idea, bro?”

  He gave his brother a curt nod. “Good, Mitch. Do it.” Once he’d given him all the information he had on Amy and Jesse Arlington, he clicked off the phone and glanced out the window again. Jesse had finally stopped peering into the pickup and was headed back to the house.

  He watched Jesse amble toward the front porch, oblivious that he was being watched, then pointed a finger at him. “Kid, I’m going to find out what’s going on. When I do, you’re going to fess up or get the hell out.”

  Chapter Six

  Judging from the smile on his face, Jarrod was having a great time. Amy watched him from inside the house, the vacuum idling and a dust rag on her shoulder. Thankfully, she’d had a long talk with Jesse right after breakfast, making him understand that, no matter what Jarrod or Seth told him to do, he’d better damn well do it or they’d be hoofing it down the road.

  Jarrod was taking his role as their new boss to the max. So far, he’d had Jesse fetch eggs from the hen house and carry firewood to the wood box. After that, he’d had Jesse pitch hay out of the hayloft and onto the back of the pickup. Nothing had gone smoothly with Jesse bitching and moaning before, during, and after every chore, yet, nonetheless, he’d done the chores. For him to do anything was a miracle.

  Seth had excused himself early on, saying he had to check on the herd. He’d shot her a look she hadn’t been able to understand. Now she did. He’d tried to warn her that Jarrod wasn’t going to take it easy on Jesse.

  But was making Jesse toe the line a bad or a good thing? Having men like the Hill brothers around would do her brother good. Plus, she trusted Jarrod not to take it too far.

  She cracked the window open just enough to hear their conversation. Although after listening to them all day long, she could guess how it was going.

  “Fuck, man, I’m not some slave you can boss around.”

  To his credit, Jarrod kept his calm no matter what kind of a fuss Jesse put up. “You’re right. You’re not a slave. But if you’re not going to stop complaining about doing chores, then you can get your ass off my land.”

  “Fuck. What more do you want out of me? Blood?” Jesse brushed dirt off his jeans, then winced and studied his palms. “I don’t see your hands blistered up like mine.”

  Jarrod stuck out his hands. “See these? See how rough they look compared to your soft paws? They got that way after years of doing what you’re doing. I’ve had blisters on top of blisters. Stop acting like you’re close to dying.”

  Jesse pulled off his hoodie. “So what? This is your ranch, not mine. I’m not going to end up shoveling shit for a living.”

  “Then what are you going to do instead, Jesse? Have guys chasing you? Are you going to keep running away scared and getting your sister mixed up in your troubles?” He pointed at Jesse. “I’ll tell you one thing. If you’re ever going to make anything of yourself, then you’d better learn right now to buckle down and work for it. I may s
hovel shit for the rest of my life, but I own my home and control my own life. The way you’re going, you’ll end up sleeping on the streets and having nothing to your name. Provided you don’t end up dead first.”

  Jarrod was right, of course. Jesse had already ended up on the streets a couple of times. God knows she’d said the same thing to Jesse so many times she’d lost count. Maybe having a man telling him would make a difference. It sure couldn’t hurt.

  “Now, are you ready to stop whining and get to your next chore?”

  “Another one?”

  “Yeah, Jesse. Ranch work never ends. I need you to help me round up the calves in the pen behind the barn.”

  “They’re already in a pen. How much more rounded up can they get?”

  “I’ll show you what I mean.”

  Jarrod led the way around the barn and out of her sight. Leaving the vacuum and the rag behind, she hurried out the door, curious to see what would happen next. By the time she peeked around the corner, Jarrod was explaining how to herd the calves through the gate and into the smaller adjoining pen.

  “I don’t get it, man. Why bother? One pen’s as good as the other.”

  “Wrong. There’s a chute between the two pens. We get a calf into the chute, then take care of business. Your job is to get them into the chute one by one.”

  “What’s the chute for?” Jesse looked interested, his usual sullen attitude gone.

  Amy stayed out of sight even though she would’ve liked to get closer. Seeing Jesse working with Jarrod was exciting and she wouldn’t do anything to break it up.

  “We get them in the chute so we can tag their ears. The narrow chute keeps them contained. Then we put one of these in their ears.” Jarrod tossed a small rectangular yellow card to her brother.

  “What for?”

  “The ear tag is a way to identify one calf from another.”

  Jesse held the tag up and studied it. “So you’re piercing their ears?”

  “Basically, yes.”

  “Huh. Cool. Cows with piercings. Maybe you should get them a tat, too.”

  “They’ll get their own kind of tattoo when we brand them. Okay, enough talk. Time’s-a-wasting. Let’s get at it.”

  Jarrod put his hand on Jesse’s shoulder and, surprisingly, he didn’t slough it off. Letting anyone touch him was a big deal for her brother. Seeing Jarrod treat him like an equal choked her up. Someone needed to make a difference in Jesse’s life and if that someone could be a man like Jarrod Hill, then she’d be ecstatic. Jarrod led the way into the larger enclosure.

  The calves got restless, sounding off, kicking up their heels, and doing their best to keep away from the men. Their noise kept her from hearing Jarrod’s instructions, but it didn’t matter. Seeing her brother listening was good enough for her.

  Jarrod signaled for Jesse to get one of the calves into the shoot. Her brother timidly approached the calf, then took off after it when the calf bawled and scooted away. It took several minutes and more than a few dashes around the enclosure before Jesse finally herded his first calf into the chute. Once he did, he let out a victorious whoop.

  A rush of emotion wafted over her. When was the last time she’d seen her brother so excited? So proud of what he’d accomplished?

  Jarrod waved him over. Although she couldn’t see what they did, it was obvious they were working together. A little while later, Jarrod opened the gate at the other side of the chute and let the calf dart into the second pen. A yellow ear tag flapped from its ear.

  “Run another one through.”

  Jesse started chasing another calf, quickly learning how to head it in the right direction. Turning on his heel to get ahead of the animal, he lost his balance and let out a curse. His feet flew out from under him, landing him on his back.

  Amy slapped a hand over her mouth, letting a squeak escape. Jesse wasn’t hurt, but he was mad as hell as he got to his feet and twisted around to look at his back.

  “Fuck! I’ve got cow shit all over me.”

  She couldn’t help it. Funny was funny and Jesse’s horrified expression was just plain hilarious. Jarrod’s chuckles only made it harder for her to stop even with both her hands clamped over her mouth.

  “You’ve got to watch where you’re stepping.”

  Letting loose with a blue streak of curse words, Jesse stormed across the pen. He jumped over the fence railing, muck and dirt flying, and continued to curse as he stalked away.

  Oh, no. Don’t give up, Jesse.

  “Hey, Jesse, get back here. We’re not finished by a long shot.”

  “Go to hell!”

  “You don’t need to change your clothes. You’re just going to get more shit on them. Trust me. I know. Been there and done that.”

  “Fuck off, man!”

  Jarrod shook his head and sauntered over to the side of the barn where she was hiding. “We shouldn’t have laughed at him.”

  She cringed then stepped out into the open. “How’d you know I was here?”

  “The horses picked up on your smell and started getting antsy in their stalls.” He leaned closer and sniffed. “Is that furniture polish? Or a new fragrance from Ode to Toilet?”

  She brought the shoulder of her shirt where she’d laid the dust rag up to her nose. The terrible smell wafted into her nostrils. “I didn’t realize I smelled so bad. No wonder you knew.”

  “Yeah. Besides, I heard the squeak you made after he landed on his ass. Good thing he didn’t hear you giggling.”

  “You’re right.” She glanced in the direction Jesse had gone. “Still, it was funny.”

  His smile could turn her upside down. All in a good way. “Yeah. It was.”

  She leaned against the railing. If he wasn’t on the other side of it, she might not be able to resist pulling his mouth to hers. After what had happened in the kitchen the night before, all she could think about was kissing him again. Kissing him and letting him do a lot more to her than just put his lips on hers.

  She’d freaked out when he’d put his hand up her shirt. If Jesse had seen her, he would’ve exploded. Yet if she could’ve had her way, if Jesse hadn’t been around, she would’ve invited both the Hill men upstairs to her room.

  Thinking that way was strange. She wasn’t the type of girl who thought about hopping into bed with one man she’d just met, much less two. But the Hill brothers were special. They were the realization of every wet dream she’d ever had. How could she miss the chance to make her fantasies come true? And yet, as she’d always done before, she’d put Jesse’s feelings ahead of her own.

  “I guess I’d make a lousy spy.”

  “Yeah, you would.” He glanced toward the direction of the house. “Think he’s going to change and come back?”

  “What do you think?”

  His chuckle was rich, warm, and went straight to her abdomen. “No. Hey, a man can hope, right?”

  “Always.” And a woman could hope, too. Hope that one day she’d be free to make the choices she wanted to make. To live the life she wanted to live.

  She wondered if the stubble running along his square jaw would be prickly or soft to the touch. His mouth was firm and, although she’d felt the masculinity of it last night, she knew it could also be tender. Everything else about him was hard steel packed under human skin. He wore another simple, unadorned denim shirt and jeans as well as the same buckle he’d had on yesterday. And it wasn’t the clothes that made the man. It was his confidence and the comfortable way he held himself.

  “Did you sleep all right?”

  Why had he asked? Had he heard her tossing and turning, waking up a couple of times with her hand between her legs? Had he heard her when she’d finally sought a release to her pain, calling out both his and Seth’s names?

  “Sure.” If he’d heard her, then two could play at that game. She’d make him think she’d heard him, too. “How about you? Did you sleep okay?”

  “Yeah. I always sleep like a log.” He rested his forearms on top of the raili
ng, brushing her arm with his. “Did it bother you to find out about the bathroom?”

  He had to be playing with her. “It kind of surprised me.”

  She’d chosen the bedroom next to his and had walked into the bathroom to find out it was a Jack-N-Jill style that connected two bedrooms. She’d stayed longer than she should have with her hand on the doorknob to his bedroom, but she hadn’t had the nerve to see if it was unlocked. Still, if he’d opened the door, she wouldn’t have hesitated to go to his bed.

  “Does that mean it bothers you?”

  Yes. But not in the way you think. “No.” Liar.

  “Good.”

  His molten eyes met hers and pulled her in. His was hot, his need steaming from his gaze. If he asked her to go to his bedroom, she’d go. Even if Jesse was in the house.

  She stepped back, aware of the tumultuous sensations swirling inside her. One touch of his hand would send her spiraling into a whirlwind of lust. A whirlwind she’d have only have one way of stopping.

  “Do you know how to ride?”

  Her thoughts jumped to a vision of her on top of his sweaty, naked body. But his real meaning was clear enough. “A little. Enough not to fall off and break my neck.”

  He pulled his body up and over the fence in one smooth motion. His quick movement startled her and thrilled her at the same time. Was he getting closer for a reason? “Knowing how to ride is important around a ranch. We’ll have to go riding together.”

  Now, please. “I’d like that.”

  He reached out and she held her breath, ready to feel his hand cup the back of her neck. She parted her lips, ready, willing, aching for his touch.

  “I wish we could saddle up a horse right now, but I need to get Jesse back to work. The ear tagging can wait. I only wanted to show him how…” His words fell off as his focus slid to the dip of her shirt. “Never mind. Let’s get him back to work.”

  He started to leave her. Again.

  She couldn’t stop herself. She’d already reached out and taken his arm before she realized what she was doing. He glanced down then met her gaze. If any man could stop time, it was Jarrod Hill. If any man could make her do things she’d never thought she’d do, it was him.