Taking Her Cowboy Doms [Pleasure, Texas 6] (Siren Publishing Menage Everlasting) Page 3

  The singing was getting louder and closer. He hurried to the fridge, pulled it open, and snared two eggs between his fingers. Just as he’d finished cracking them open, Tanya, bare-assed, waltzed into the kitchen.

  Fuck, but she’s hot.

  And from the way Mike was giving her the once, then twice over, he thought so, too. Maybe, just maybe, he could entice his cousin into a little ménage playtime. “Hey, baby. How are you doing?”

  “I’m good. Real good after last night.” Her soft brown eyes were still filled with cloudy sleepiness. Her gaze slipped over him to Mike. She held out her hand as though she was fully dressed and ready for a job interview. “Hi. I’m Tanya. You must be Mike.” She gave Alex a little shoulder shove. “You’re a big, fat liar. You said he was kind of homely. But he’s not. He’s super good-looking.”

  The best thing he could do was to play dumb. “Naw. I didn’t say that.” He slipped an arm around her waist. “And he’s a super-fun guy, too, once he loosens up. Hey, how about the three of us going back to bed and loosening up my cousin?” He grimaced. “You know what I mean. Us with her. Taking turns. Choosing ends. No crossing swords going on here.”

  “Ooh, that sounds like fun.”

  Mike was tempted—he’d checked out her body again—but something held him back. Was it just his unflinching dedication to working the ranch and seeing it make a profit? Or was he holding out for Ms. Right again?

  Mike shook his head and gave Tanya a pleasant if not genuine smile. He took another sip of his coffee, set it on the counter, and headed toward the back door. “It was nice to meet you, Tanya. Alex, I’ll get your horse ready while you say good-bye to your friend.”

  Shit.

  “I don’t think he liked me.”

  He tugged her closer, although at the moment, he didn’t feel anything toward her. Nothing. Not even a little horny. He’d had his time with her and it was over. Mike was right. She needed to leave. He’d get her out without being rude.

  “Naw, don’t let him get to you. That’s just his way.”

  But it wasn’t. At least not until recently. He’d gone from a fun-loving partner who loved kicking up his heels to a guy who didn’t want anything but the “real deal.” Mike’s words, not his. And maybe, just maybe, his cousin was right.

  “How about I finish cooking the eggs”—she leaned into him, taking his chin between her fingers to drag his attention away from the window—“and then we can work the calories off in bed?”

  Damn. She’s one of those girls.

  He hated it when a girl worried about what she ate or how she looked. Why couldn’t a girl just enjoy her body and have fun? He definitely found her less attractive than he had last night. A lot less attractive. Even to the point of irritating.

  “Listen, Tanya, you go ahead and make yourself a great breakfast or lunch or whatever. But Mike’s right. We’ve got work to do.”

  “Huh? But where are you going? I could stay another night if you want.”

  He took her by the arms to put distance between them. “Uh, no thanks. I’m sure you need to get back on the road. And I need to get to work. Just clean up when you’re finished, okay? No need to lock the door, either.”

  He could still see her surprised look as he snatched his hat off the hook by the back door and started toward the barn. Mike already had Trumpet saddled and waiting for him.

  “Is she going?”

  “Yeah.” He swung onto the horse and tugged his cowboy hat down low over his forehead. “I told her she could fix something to eat and then leave.”

  “Why didn’t you just get her out? Hell, she might be one of those girls who’ll hang around until you get home.”

  “If she does, I’ll handle it.”

  He couldn’t argue with Mike. It had already happened more than once. One of the girls had lingered for two days until he’d finally had to escort her out of the house and into her car. Then it had taken him another thirty minutes to get her to drive away.

  But damn, as much trouble as girls could be, they were a hell of a lot of fun, too.

  “Come on. Let’s get going.” Mike clucked at his horse Viper and trotted him out of the barn.

  Giving the house one last look—damn, she was watching from the window—he put Trumpet into a gallop.

  * * * *

  Finding the Houston ranch hadn’t been difficult. But seeing Caleb and his brother standing there waiting for them put a knot in Jilly’s stomach. “Uh, sis, Caleb seems happy enough to see us, but the other guy looks really confused. I’m getting a bad feeling about this.”

  “Don’t worry. It’ll be fine.” Molly shoved open the car door and slid out.

  “I sure hope so.” She got out, too, but let Molly lead the way. If anyone was going to get cut down first, then she’d let her sister be that one.

  “Hi, Molly, Jilly. Welcome to our home.”

  As she’d suspected, Caleb was the only one really welcoming them. The other guy, just as handsome as Caleb, was anything but welcoming.

  “What the fuck are you talking about?”

  Oh, yeah. I feel right at home.

  “Derrick, these are the two new hands I hired today. Molly and Jilly are going to help out inside the house and on the ranch. Great news, huh?”

  She sensed Molly stiffening, but knew her sister would come back at the grumpy cowboy with a full-fledged brilliant smile. Molly didn’t like confrontation. Instead, she’d do her best to charm her way through it. She tried to put on a similar smile, but doubted hers came anywhere near the brilliant wattage of Molly’s.

  Molly stuck her hand out. “Hi. I’m Molly. It’s great to be here.”

  “Derrick.”

  “And I’m Jilly.” So he’s Derrick. Caleb’s better and not-as-friendly half.

  Derrick launched right into them, grilling them not only about how much they knew about working a ranch, but even where they’d purchased their clothes. Had they left the price tags on? They’d had to search to find clothes suitable for working a ranch, and it had cost almost all of what little money they had left. The least he could do would be to acknowledge their willingness to dress for the job.

  Working a ranch with Caleb would be okay. Especially since her sister was so obviously hung up on him. But working alongside Derrick? That would be a real challenge. She glanced at her sister. How in the world could Molly find him attractive? Sure, he was handsome and sexy in a cowboy kind of way, but once he’d opened his mouth, she couldn’t imagine wanting to get him into bed.

  And now he was asking if they’d worked at the club as submissives. She was glad Molly was handling all his questions. Yet, even Molly was having a tough time keeping her cool.

  “Then why were you there? Do you get turned on by fires or burned down buildings?”

  Tell me he didn’t just accuse us of being fire bugs.

  She arched an eyebrow and got ready to jump on his ass. He got lucky, however, when Caleb came to the rescue.

  “Damn, Derrick, can the shit. They were at the club because they want to work there.”

  At least Caleb was backing Molly up. Jilly just wanted to stay out of the line of fire. Why get involved anyway? It’d be more fun just to watch the three of them.

  “Molly, go ahead and tell him everything. He’s got a sixth sense about these things. It’s weird, I know, but it is what it is,” encouraged Caleb.

  But when Molly admitted that they’d never worked on a ranch, Jilly was ready to run for the hills. Taking a stand in an argument was one thing, but sticking around when a man like Derrick was about to explode wasn’t anything she wanted to do.

  “I knew it,” declared Derrick.

  “Come on, bro. They’re broke and need a job. Plus, they’re a long way from home and we can use the help. I’m not paying them much. And look at them. They can’t eat much as small as they are.”

  She shot Caleb a smile. Her sister had already let her know she wanted him, but Jilly couldn’t help but like him a little, too. As for h
is brother, though…

  She was sure Derrick would toss them out on their butts when he finally relented.

  “Fine.”

  They clapped, then hugged, celebrating the small victory. But would she be thankful once she started having to work?

  He told them exactly what they’d be in for, lining everything out in a matter-of-fact way. He warned them that they’d have to do the job right—they’d have to “carry their own weight”— and both she and Molly nodded, pledging to do their best.

  Right then, she would’ve nodded at just about anything he said. She was brave, but she wasn’t stupid. When a big, mad man was bearing down on her, she knew when to get out of the way.

  Molly agreed, bobbing her head again and again. Her sister was a little too enthusiastic as far as Jilly was concerned, but she had no choice but to go along with her. Go along with her and hope everything worked out for the best.

  “We want you to treat us just like you would any other hired hands,” answered Molly.

  “Right. Definitely,” added Jilly, not really sure what she was agreeing to. So far she hadn’t seen any animals, but there had to be some, right?

  “You’ll be expected to get up at dawn and get your asses moving. You’re going to cook, clean the house, do the laundry, and everything a woman should do every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Every other day, you’re going to clean stalls, feed the chickens—”

  Say what?

  She sucked in a hard blast of air. Did he just say chickens?

  She felt the blood rush out of her face. A buzzing sound in her ears drowned out the rest of what he said. By the time he’d finished talking, then had grabbed Caleb by the arm and was yanking him toward the barn, she was sure she’d faint.

  “Don’t you dare pass out, Jilly Miller.”

  “What?”

  Molly dragged her along with her back to the car. She opened the trunk, snatched up her suitcase, and forced her to take it. She took it automatically, without thinking. Molly lifted her own suitcase and took her by the hand again, pulling her toward another building. The building was too big to be an outhouse, but wasn’t anywhere near the size of the ranch house. Or even a small cottage.

  Had Derrick said something about a bunkhouse? She hadn’t thought he was serious. Ranches didn’t have bunkhouses any longer, did they? That was only in the movies.

  Molly didn’t turn her loose until she was inside and tossing her suitcase on the bottom bed. A bottom bed that was part of a bunk bed. In a bunkhouse.

  Oh, hell, no.

  “Are you freakin’ kidding me? You expect me to live here?”

  “Jilly, you had to know living in a bunkhouse wouldn’t be great.”

  “Wouldn’t be great” was the understatement of a gargantuan kind.

  “How would I know what a bunkhouse is like?” Jilly dropped her suitcase, then slung her purse on the table in front of her and half expected the thing to collapse. “This place is as small as my dorm room. No wait. It’s smaller. Where’s the kitchen anyway?”

  Molly slid her palm over the tiny countertop that held only a sink, a tiny microwave, and a coffee pot that hadn’t been cleaned in ages.

  “Caleb said it would only have a microwave and a coffee pot. Remember, we’re eating at the house with them.”

  “Microwave? It should be called a mini-microwave. I doubt we can get a frozen dinner inside it.”

  “But at least there’s a refrigerator.” Molly opened the fridge door, then slammed it shut.

  Uh-huh. As if I didn’t see how big her eyes got.

  She started to open the fridge and see for herself, then thought better of it. It didn’t take much of an imagination to know what was inside. “Oh, yeah. Terrific. That’s pint-size, too.”

  Molly didn’t bother to hide her irritation. They continued to talk with Molly doing her best to make things seem better than they were. Jilly wasn’t having any of it, but unless she was willing to take Paul Casing up on his offer of a loan she was just SOL. Shit out of luck.

  She tried to pull it together, but it was even tougher once they got a glimpse of the bathroom. Although she tried to hide it, Molly was just as horrified as she was. “Are they serious? We’re supposed to share that tiny little space? Two girls?”

  The bathroom of a RV was more spacious. And probably cleaner even after a rock band had used it to tour around the country.

  “It’s not so bad.”

  “Who are you?” No amount of persuasion would make her see it as more than it was. A shit hole.

  “I’m the girl who’s trying to make do with what we’ve got.”

  Next came the argument over who got to sleep on the bottom of the bunk bed. Jilly pushed the issue, even to the point of getting a little whiny, but she couldn’t help it. Chickens, bunkhouse, tiny bathroom, and no kitchen. Then to sleep on twin-size beds? How much horror was a girl supposed to handle?

  Still, she managed to pull herself together. She was almost calm by the time she joined Molly at the table. Molly turned on her computer, trying to figure out how to cook water. She tapped on the keyboard several times, her brow knitted in confusion. “Let me find out if you boil or microwave water.”

  “If they even have Internet here.” She almost laughed at Molly’s stunned expression. But she’d only been kidding. Still, what if they couldn’t get online? She held her breath and waited as Molly logged on.

  “Jilly, check your phone while I see what the connection here is like.”

  Before she had a chance, Molly already had her answer.

  “That’s a relief.”

  Hell, yeah, it’s a relief. Not that I’ll admit how worried I’d been. “So you can handle all these other awful living conditions, but having no Internet would’ve been the deal breaker?”

  “Of course not,” answered Molly.

  She went ahead and checked her phone. Their parents had either forgotten to cancel their phones or had kept them working so they could call and beg to come back home. She didn’t care why, just as long as they had a way to stay in touch with the outside world.

  “They’re hot, right?”

  Here it comes. The real reason we took this ridiculous job. “Yeah. I already said they were.”

  “Oh, yeah.”

  “You’re crushing on them, aren’t you?”

  “Me? No. Of course not. But like you, I wouldn’t kick them out of my bed.”

  They both wanted Doms. Men who would teach them the joys of submission. Although they could’ve found men ready and willing to be their Doms back home, Molly had her heart set on working at the club and finding two hot cowboys who knew how to handle not only a rope, but a pair of handcuffs.

  “Would you want to keep both of them in your bed, sis?”

  They’d talked about sharing, too, but had decided against it. They wanted their own men and their own homes.

  “Yoo-hoo. Molly. Answer, please.”

  “Yeah. I wouldn’t mind both of them. Especially if they’re into playing rough.”

  “I bet Caleb is. After all, why else would we have met him at Pleasure Ranch?”

  “Maybe. But then again, maybe not. He could’ve been visiting Paul as a friend and not as a member or a Dom there.”

  “Then just ask him.”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Why not? He knows we want to work there and be subs, too. It’s not like you’re exposing us.” She giggled, loving how nervous her sister was getting. “Get it? Exposing us?”

  “Yeah, I get it. I wish I didn’t, but I do.” Molly nibbled on her fingernail. “But what about you? Don’t you want either one of them? Hopefully, we can find a second Dom.”

  She’s hoping we’ll find a second pair of Doms, not just another man for each of us. “Sure we can. But having brothers as your Doms would be kind of super, don’t you think?”

  “Yeah. I’ve always wanted brothers. Or cousins.”

  “Cousins would be good. Absolutely.” Cousins, brothers, however it turned out w
ould be perfect. They’d know each other well and she’d be one of the family fast enough.

  “Then it’s okay with you if I go for both of them?”

  “You bet. Go for it. Or them.”

  “But what if they’re not up for it? I’m not sure I could stay here if they rejected me.”

  “They’re not going to reject you. Please. How can you even think that?”

  “I guess.”

  Why did Molly doubt herself? She was beautiful and smart and had a ton of guys back home wanting her.

  “And if they’re not into the scene, then you can always change their minds.” She’d seen the way Caleb looked at her sister. Like he could put her on a spoon and gobble her up. And, even though Derrick had acted like a jerk, he’d ended up with the same gotta-have-her expression Caleb had. Neither one of them had paid her that kind of attention.

  The Houston brothers were all for her sister. Which was okay by her. She’d step aside and let Molly get her dream of two hot cowboys. In the meantime, she’d do her best to stay on the ranch, giving Molly as much time as she needed to get closer to the men. Chickens and all.

  But what about her? Was she going to end up alone? Or worse, driving back to Ohio alone?

  “Okay, then, that’s decided. On to more urgent matters.” Jilly grabbed her suitcase, flopped it on top of the bed, and looked around. The absence of any kind of dresser or armoire was a bad sign. “Where are we going to put all our clothes?”

  Chapter Three

  Dinner was a complete disaster. She and Molly had tried their best to bluff their way through cooking, but either someone knew how to cook or they didn’t.

  They didn’t.

  How were they supposed to know how to cook a steak? They’d eaten a few of them in their lifetime, but they’d always been prepared by their father cooking on a grill or by a chef in a restaurant. Jilly had never even purchased raw meat before.

  The problem was, they hadn’t realized how awful it was until everyone sat down at the table. Caleb was as nice as before, at least making a stab at eating his overcooked steak. Derrick, however, spit one bite out.